IEC TC82 “Photovoltaics” WG3 and 6 Committees

IEC TC82 “Photovoltaics” WG3 and 6 Committees

There is a massive amount of work being undertaken at present.  Most of the work relates to safety issues with only a small amount related to performance at this stage.  Most of the systems work is also concentrated in the grid connected area although much of the balance of systems components work also has applications in stand-alone systems. There is a lot of liaison work happening with other committees such as SC32B “LV Fuses”, TC64 “Electrical Installations” and  SC17B “Low-Voltage Switchgear”

The work on PV array installation is informing urgent revision of AS/NZS5033 in the interim before the international standard is available.

The work on inverter safety is extremely important as is the work on PV on buildings and fire safety.  The components standards such as for the d.c disconnect, arc detector and combiner boxes will significantly improve safety moving forward.

Issues relating to PV performance are becoming a significant issue particularly for larger systems and these will be increasingly important in contractual arrangements.

Work in the systems and the components area is also being fed back to the PV Modules committee WG2 and this work is affecting safety requirements for PV cables and connectors on modules.

It is very important for Australia to be well informed and contribute to the development of these standards as they affect systems safety and also affect our manufacturers of inverter equipment. It is certain that much of these new developments will be adopted in Australia soon after they become available.

STATUS OF WORK WG3 “Systems”

PV array installation IEC62548

I am the project leader for a project on PV array installation IEC62548.  This project is one of the most important ones for safe installation of PV arrays.  We are coordinating with TC64. The situation politically between TC82 and TC64 has become complex but we are working through it.  TC64 are using a lot of the TC82 document to revise IEC60364-7-712 and we have agreed to let both documents coexist, making sure there is no conflict in meaning at this stage.  TC64 MT9 is still working through 300 comments on their last revision and we are about to release the CDV of 62548. There is a real need for this document in the industry.

PV on buildings

A new NWIP and project team has been developed for a document covering PV on buildings and will cover areas not covered by the electrical installations document.  The NWIP will be submitted before the end of the year.

PV fire safety with respect to emergency workers continues to be a big issue and a number of issues were discussed including wire routing and protection and safety devices such as active junction boxes.  It is very hard to obtain consensus on many of these issues.

PV Water Pumping IEC 62253

A CDV of a document on water pumping performance is at the final stages of editing and translation before being released as a CDV.

On Site measurement of IV characteristics IEC 61829

A revised document has been sent to central office after maintenance.

PV Performance Monitoring

The EU has just finished a major project on performance monitoring and the results of this project will form the basis of a maintenance project to update IEC 61724 which will most probably be split into multiple documents with the emphasis on creating a grid connected system performance document as a priority.

Large Power plant Design

A new NWIP has been submitted and a project team assembled for a project to create a technical specification for large power plant design.

Stand alone systems Hybrid design

Work is under way to establish standards for stand alone system safety and these will be coordinated with the JCWG to  draw on the experiences gained in those technical specifications.

Utility Interface Issues

A watching brief is being kept on utility related committees.  There are many important issues arising that will have to be addressed in the future such as voltage regulation, VAr control and fault ride through but many of these issues have to be resolved in the industry to some extent before a standard can evolve.

Restarting JCWG Group for Developing Country Applications

A meeting was held to set the agenda for the next 6 months to try and obtain new membership and re-start the program of work on the developing country standards.

STATUS OF WORK WG6 “Balance of Systems Components”

Inverter safety

The inverter safety standard IEC62109-2 is about to be released as an FDIS and will be an extremely important document for the industry and will  allow coordination of safety requirements with the PV installation document IEC 62548.

Module Electronics Safety

A new project and an NWIP is about to be started to cover a.c. module inverters and also any other type of electronics that might be integrated into a PV module e.g. d.c. to d.c. converters & active junction boxes.

Arc detection and prevention

A NWIP has been developed and will be submitted before the end of the year to cover functionality and detection capability of d.c arc detectors for PV applications.

Combiner Box Safety

An NWIP has been approved for development of a standard for combiner (Junction) boxes for PV.  This will be developed in consultation with SC17B

DC Disconnect Switch

A possible NWIP is being discussed for requirements of d.c. disconnects to ensure proper operation with current sources over the complete range of current operation   This will be developed in consultation SC17B.

MPPT Performance Standard

Currently a CENELEC Standard is under review for modification and possible adoption for MPPT performance standard.

Test procedure for Islanding Prevention

The current document IEC62116 is being reviewed for possible maintenance in light of islanding incidents in Spain.  A possible new test procedure was reviewed but more work is needed.