Review of Renewable Energy Standards Development in Australia and The IEC (Sep 2003)

Australian and international agencies are actively working to develop standards for renewable energysystems and balance of system components. ACRELab staff are participating in this important process. It is important for Australia to have a part in the development of meaningful and manageable standards for the industry, to improve reliability and acceptability of renewable energy systems worldwide. This work is strongly linked to the certification and testing activities of ACRELab and other laboratories worldwide. It is particularly important that Australian experience in hybrid remote systems be integrated in internationalstandards.

ACRELab Involvement in Standards Development

ACRELab's leader in the standards field is Ted Spooner. He has the following appointments within the Australian and Intenational Standards Organisations:

• Member of the AS Committee EL42
• Chair of AS EL42/3 (Grid Connection Standard)
• Project Leader for the Australian Government Industry Action Agenda Initiative 5 "Reliability and Standards"
• Member if IEC TC82 Photovoltaics Committee
  • Working Group 3 - Systems
  • Working Group 6 - BOS Components
• Member of IEC joint TC21, TC82, TC88, TC105 on Stand Alone Systems

Current Standards Work

• Development of an Australian Standard for installation of photovoltaic arrays, this item is already within the agenda of AS Committee EL42.
• Development of test procedures for photovoltaic systems and components, which be converted to Australian Standards in due course.