The Solar ABCs is a collaborative effort among experts to formally gather and prioritize input from the broad spectrum of photovoltaic stakeholders resulting in coordinated recommendations to codes and standards making bodies for existing and new solar technologies.
|
|
Solar ABCs Newsletter
| September 2011
|
|
|
|
|
Greetings!
Greetings! Welcome to the September newsletter for the Solar America Board for Codes and Standards (Solar ABCs). The Solar ABCs Newsletter provides the latest news and information about solar codes and standard achievements, announcements, and events. In this newsletter, we report on a free 2012 I-Codes webinar as well as the upcoming annual Solar ABCs stakeholder meeting, a new IEEE standard for interconnection, the addition of IAPMO codes and standards to the Solar ABCs website, and a new report on a high-penetration photovoltaic (PV) project. Please contact me if you have any questions or comments. Sincerely,  Larry Sherwood
Project Administrator
Solar America Board for Codes and Standards |
|
Solar ABCs Webinar: Changes to 2012 I-Codes Affecting Solar
September 20, 2pm EDT (1pm CDT, noon MDT, 11am PDT) Solar ABCs invites you to register for a free webinar that will provide information about the changes to the 2012 International Code Council's (ICC) model construction codes affecting solar. Model construction codes, including the International Building Code (IBC), the International Fire Code (IFC), and the International Residential Code (IRC), have sections relevant to PV installations. The 2012 edition of the IBC includes revisions related to the fire class rating of PV modules and PV wind load calculations. The 2012 edition of the IFC includes requirements for PV markings, access and spacing, as well as the location of DC conductors. In addition, the ICC is developing a new International Green Construction Code (IGCC), which is currently in the final phase of adoption and will also include sections relevant to PV. In this free webinar, you will learn about the 2012 revisions to model construction codes that affect PV installations and the Solar ABCs publications that will help you understand and interpret these revisions. John Taecker from Underwriters Laboratories and Bill Brooks from Brooks Engineering will lead the webinar along with Christine Covington from SEIA who will provide some perspective on the development of the 2015 editions of these codes. |
Solar ABCs Annual Stakeholder Meeting
October 21, 2011, 8am - 12:30pm Dallas, Texas Register today for the Solar ABCs annual 2011 Stakeholder Meeting in Dallas, Texas on October 21, 2011. The Solar ABCs holds an annual meeting to provide PV stakeholders an update and overview of Solar ABCs projects and other PV codes and standards activities. This meeting is free to attend and is conveniently scheduled during the Solar Power International 2011's post-conference workshops. Be sure to plan to attend and hear an overview of: - 2014 National Electrical Code (John Wiles, NMSU)
- Fire Rating of PV modules (Bill Brooks, Brooks Engineering and Andy Rosenthal, NMSU)
- Arc-fault Circuit Interrupter Issues (Ward Bower, Sandia and Tim Zgonena, UL)
- Ground-fault Protection Improvements to Prevent Fires (Bill Brooks, Brooks Engineering)
- Conforming U.S. and International Safety Standards (Christopher Flueckiger, UL)
- Grounding Issues (Greg Ball, BEW Engineering and John Wiles, NMSU)
- New Standards Development (G. Tamizh-Mani, ASU and Alex Mikonowicz, PowerMark)
- IEEE Standards (Michael Coddington, NREL)
- IEC Standards (Howard Barikmo, Sunset)
- Quality Assurance Forum (Sarah Kurtz, NREL)
|
IEEE Standard 1547 Approved as International Reference for Interconnection
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) national committees recently approved the IEEE Std 1547 Standard for Interconnecting Distributed Resources with Electric Power Systems as an international IEC-IEEE "dual logo" document - IEC/PAS 63547 (PAS meaning Publically Available Specification). The establishment of the IEEE Std 1547 as an international reference document represents a significant milestone for the PV industry, as well as for stakeholders within the U.S. electricity market. IEEE will maintain the IEEE Std 1547 as an American National Standard (ANSI) as the interconnection standard for the U.S. power grid.
Additionally, that PAS provides a reference for going forward with a new work item proposal - an IEC-IEEE dual logo future publication. That publication will be created as an international standard (IS) from "IEC/IEEE 63547 Ed.1.0: Connection Criteria of Dispersed Generation up to 10MW to Distribution Networks up to 35 kV." When approved by the IEC participating countries, that new IS document will revise the PAS by both IEC and IEEE by agreement between both organizations.
The purpose and justification of that new international standard are "to provide common guidance for the connection of distributed resources (DR) to the distribution grid. Standardizing connection practices would allow DR stakeholders to have common guidance to consider for DR products in most countries throughout the world, which would benefit DR trade and could spread the use of renewable energy sources (e.g. PV generators, environmental aspects). Operation security is also being addressed (safety), as well as power quality and electromagnetic interference issues."
For more information, contact Thomas Basso, IEEE liaison to IEC PAS 63547 and Chairman and Technical Advisor of US Technical Advisory Group IEC Technical Committee 8, System Aspects of Electricity Supply.
|
Solar ABCs Website Addition: IAPMO
The Solar ABCs is pleased to announce the addition of the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) codes and standards information to our website. IAPMO works with government and industry to implement comprehensive plumbing and mechanical systems around the world. There are many IAPMO codes and standards that pertain to photovoltaic installations, including: Uniform Solar Energy Code, IAPMO IGC 086-2002 - PASSIVE SOLAR WATER HEATERS, and IAPMO IGC 190-2003 - AIR BASE SOLAR THERMAL COLLECTOR. Learn more about IAPMO Codes and Standards on the Solar ABCs website. |
Final Report - High-Penetration PV Project with NREL and Southern California Edison
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has completed the final report for its ARRA-funded grant within the High Penetration Funding Opportunity in 2009. The research team included NREL, Southern California Edison (SCE), Quanta Technology, Satcon, Electrical Distribution Design, and Clean Power Research. The team was formed to analyze the impacts of high-penetration levels of PV resources interconnected onto the SCE distribution system. Specifically, SCE will be interconnecting a total of 500 MW of commercial scale PV by 2015 within their service territory through a program approved by the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC). Download the full report.
|
|
|
|
|
