Clean Energy Council Product Manager Aron Cane explains updates to the IEC 61215 standards and how they will impact solar PV modules.
From 1 October 2024, solar panels must meet the new IEC 61215:2021 standard to be listed on the Clean Energy Council’s list of approved photovoltaic (PV) modules and be eligible for the Federal Government’s small-scale technology certificates (STCs). Here’s what you need to know about the change.
Understanding standards changes
Standards for solar products including PV modules, inverters and batteries are regularly updated to ensure they keep pace with technological advancements, evolving industry practices, and emerging safety and performance issues. It can cause some disruption for installers and retailers, but it’s particularly important in an industry like solar which provides an essential service, poses high potential safety risks and experiences rapid technological innovation. Standards help ensure solar products installed in homes and businesses are safe and reliable.
There are a number of bodies involved in the development and enforcement of standards in the solar industry in Australia. Standards Australia are recognised by the federal government as the primary non-government standards development body in Australia and so develop the standards for solar products, systems and services here. The Clean Energy Council maintains lists of modules, inverters and batteries, ensuring they have been tested to meet those standards. Key service providers and programs, including Distributed Network Service Providers (DNSPs) and the Federal Government’s Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES), use the Clean Energy Council Approved Product Lists as a condition of participation in their operations. And so, retailers and installers use products on those lists to be able to participate in those programs and networks.
One of the key elements of Standards Australia’s work is to align with international standards to improve international trade and lower consumer prices. In November 2021, Standards Australia updated AS/NZS 5033 and outlined requirements for selecting PV modules qualified to the latest versions of IEC 61215 and IEC 61730, international standards set by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
The Clean Energy Council reviewed the changes to the standards and updated the requirements for approved PV modules in August 2023, giving industry over a year’s notice of the change.
What are the changes to PV module requirements?
The IEC 61215 standard specifically relates to the design qualification and type approval of terrestrial photovoltaic modules. It sets out a series of tests to determine whether a PV module can withstand the environmental conditions it is likely to encounter during its service life, such as exposure to UV light, temperature extremes, humidity, mechanical stress, and electrical stresses.
The 2021 revision of the IEC 61215 standards introduced several significant changes to enhance the reliability and performance evaluation of PV modules. These included:
• specific testing requirements for bifacial PV modules to provide a more comprehensive assessment of their output
• improved testing procedures to better simulate real-world conditions, such as more detailed guidelines for mechanical load testing and temperature cycling as well as more stringent UV testing requirements
• additional extended durability tests, including tests for potential-induced degradation (PID) and cyclic thermal stress, to assess the modules’ likely long-term performance.
These standards changes should provide clear improvements for consumers.
Check you’re using modules that meet IEC 61215 standards
From 1 October 2024, the Clean Energy Council required most PV modules to meet IEC 61215 standards and to be re-certified on their product list. Some manufacturers were granted extensions for a small number of products for extenuating circumstances.
Solar installers and retailers must ensure they are using PV modules that are still eligible on the Clean Energy Council products list:
• Those with an expiry date of 30 September 2024 or earlier are not certified to 2021 standards and are not considered approved after this date
• Those with an expiry date of 31 March 2025 were given an extension and will not be considered approved after this date
• Those with an expiry date later than 31 March 2025 are certified to 2021 standards and are considered approved into the future; they also have a suffix saying IEC 61215-2021
Manufacturers of PV modules and their agents should reapply to the Clean Energy Council for approval to 2021 standards if they have not already done so.
Preparing for future changes
Changes to standards will inevitably happen again. At the time of writing for example, the Clean Energy Council are investigating whether any changes to products are needed from the publication of AS/NZS 4777.2 and IEC 61730:2023.
Here are some tips to how to prepare:
• Manage your stock – standards changes may come with a six-month to one-year implementation phase, so stockpiling equipment more than 12 months in advance could cause problems
• Stay updated – follow and subscribe to key stakeholders including Standards Australia, the IEC and the Clean Energy Council
Products standards changes are often disruptive as the industry seeks to offload expiring stock. However, they are completely necessary to ensure the solar systems installed across Australia are safe and of good quality.
Make sure you’re using compliant solar panels by checking the Clean Energy Council products list and follow key stakeholders so you’re first to hear about future standards updates.
This article featured in the October edition of ecogeneration.
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