The PV Demonstration and THERMIE programmes of the European Commission have played a major role in encouraging the application of photovoltaic technology in Europe. The Demonstration programme began in 1979 and both it and the subsequent THERMIE programme have been managed ever since by DGXVII, the Directorate for Energy. More than 140 projects have been offered support, giving an installed capacity of over 5.7 MWp. The projects have been spread over a range of applications including rural electrification, telecommunication systems and grid-connected power generation. All have been monitored using comparable procedures at either a basic (global) or more complex (analytical) level depending on the system size. To facilitate the comparison of different systems, the data from all projects are analysed by the EC's Joint Research Centre (JRC) at Ispra in Italy. This article discusses the aim and scope of the programmes, and highlights some of the lessons learned in the area of rural electrification. The range of projects is described and broken down into sectors. The future of the programme is summarized and priorities are discussed.