The IEC prepares a new skills competence schedule for employees involved in the photovoltaic market for solar energy. The secretary of IEC TC 82, George Kelly, tells us about this new schedule and reflects on the standardization challenges for his TC.
Why are there no certification services for Solar PV systems in EcreThe IEC system for certification for standards with regard to equipment for use in applications for renewable energy?
We have had a certification and test schedule for PV modules and inverters Iecee, The IEC system for conformity assessment schedules for electrical equipment and components. It is very well established and has been active for 22 years. IECE certification for solar panels is now a market requirement and manufacturers cannot export their products if they are not certified. When Iecre was founded 10 years ago, it was launched with the wind industry in mind. The marine sector was only in the very early stages, so it was also logical for that industry. Mariene experts could build everything around IECre certification, with all the right rules and documents to do that. And they have made good progress in the past decade. The problem with Solar PV systems is that when Iecal was set up 10 years ago, there was already an existing, fairly wide infrastructure of private certification services, all of which promote themselves as the best in the market. This meant that it would always be a difficult sale to propose a rival certification schedule, even if it were independent and third parties. Business models already existed without Iecre. And we struggled with that in the beginning. But the good news is that we are working on a new schedule that we expect to meet the market requirements for PV systems for solar energy.
What kind of new schedule?
In the past year we have looked at the market and collected intelligence. We have noticed that the requirements to certify people and to check whether they have the right skills for different areas of industry is a growing care. To achieve 2030 and 2050 Zero -cabbage goals, Solar PV systems around the world become ubiquitous and there is a great potential for their growth in emerging and developing countries. There will literally be thousands of people involved in installing these systems in the coming years. There is a market-specific need to train and assess the skills of employees involved in the market, especially in emerging countries, in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Investors in these emerging countries must know that the products they finance will be installed correctly by qualified personnel.
When will this new service become operational?
We are in the stage where we complete the documents and consult the certification authorities to request their input. Once we have done that, we will submit the proposal to the Renewable Energy Management Committee (REMC). If the REMC approves, we can launch the new scheme during the next two to three years.
Can you imagine that you have a skills competence schedule for new areas such as floating solar energy?
Yes, absolutely. TC 82 Works on new standards for that area. The initial competence schedule will be based on our established standards for land -based systems. But there are indeed various requirements for floating tanning systems: First of all, they are in the water and cables and electrical equipment under water have very different requirements, including the expertise to install them. We started working together IEC TC 114That marine energy systems standardizes because the experts there have a broad understanding of the movement of waves and how they influence floating systems. The tensions on the PV modules are very different from what we have had to deal with. In the more distant future we could even provide standardizing structures that capture energy from the waves, the sun and even the wind at the same time.
TC 82 develops a technical report, TR 63525About the reuse of PV modules. Is the circular economy an important care for the PV market for solar energy?
The enormous prediction growth of the PV industry in the coming years means that millions of solar panels will be produced and installed, and we have to start thinking about reuse and recycling. Solar panels have a long service life – about 30 years – but we have to prepare for a world where modules are repaired or replaced. Our project team has viewed various scenarios and the most useful ways to tackle them. In one scenario it is worth easily to repair the module to have a longer -working life, because the repair is easy to make and not too expensive. In another scenario, the system may need to be replaced, but the module itself is fine and can be used for a second life in remote and poor communities that cannot afford to install the most recent technology. And a third is about recycling the materials in the system. About 70% of a module is made of glass that is easy to recyclable. Other parts such as silicon waffles and metals used for semiconductors are much more difficult to recycle. But there are already companies involved in that company. Some companies estimate that more than 75% of a PV module can now be recycled thanks to innovative and powerful processing and sorting techniques. The report looks at what is economically feasible and what steps must be taken for economic viability. It comes down to the volumes and how to industrialize processes to lower costs. It is also an area where the assessment of skills will be required in the future, because we need inspectors and testers of existing installations, as well as people who know how to dismantle, repair and recycle.
What would say that most TC 82 experts are needed in the coming years?
Cooperation and cooperation. We don’t and cannot know everything. That is why we work together on batteries and storage systems with IEC TC 120 that proposes the standards for electrical energy storage systems and IEC TC 21 Those standards for cells, batteries and loading systems prepares, for example, because they know how to repair and recycle batteries. As we go more in the future, there is a real change of paradigm, with more and more distributed energy systems, instead of energy from large power plants. This is a challenge for tools that have to adapt to this new landscape. But it is also a huge opportunity for emerging countries that can abandon the installation of expensive electricity networks and can jump for the technology curve by installing distributed energy systems and microgrids to make much cheaper energy access possible.
Author: Catherine Bischofberger
The International electrical engineering committee (IEC) is a global, non-profit membership organization that brings together 174 countries and coordinates the work of 30,000 experts worldwide. IEC international standards and conformity assessment are based on international trade in electrical and electronic goods. They facilitate access to electricity and verify the safety, performance and interoperability of electrical and electronic devices and systems, including consumer devices such as mobile phones or refrigerators, office and medical equipment, information technology, electricity generation and much more.
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