1. SunSpec Alliance
Solar Industry Strategy
Session
February 3, 2015
San Diego, CA
1

3. Agenda
 Challenges shaping Distributed Energy market
 CA Rule 21 impact on DER interconnection
 SunSpec CEC design win: interoperability for
smart inverters and energy storage
 SunSpec 2015 Program
 Round table discussion

4. Mega Challenges
 Current PV management practices are
obsolete
 Grid capacity for dumb energy is near
 Major technology additions are coming
 Growth opportunities are unprecedented

5. MC 1: Current Practices Are Obsolete
 Mostly manual, backward looking
 Truck rolls & wrench turns assumed
 Focused on "fixing stuff that broke”
 Customers/markets: focused on next hour, tomorrow, next week
 Specialized by function, little data reuse
 Design
 Construction
 Operations
 Maintenance
 Grid interaction
 Asset management
 Financial management
 No standards

6. Why Lack of Standards Is A Problem
Monitor 2Monitor 1 Monitor 3 Monitor 4 Monitor 5 Monitor
6
• 200 plant commercial portfolio
• Six different monitoring systems
• Six points of supply chain failure
• Custom backup solution
• $200K+ additional cost
• Supply chain still broken
Backup
Monitor 7

7. MC 2: Grid Capacity For Dumb Energy Is
Near
 European dream turning into a nightmare
 Unintentional islanding in Spain
 50.2 Hz auto trip behavior in Germany
 Major move toward “re-powering” across
continent
 Hawaii market grinding down
 50% smaller market than one year ago
 California “tapping the brakes”
 “Solar needs to clean up the mess it has
made”

8. California ISO: Status Quo Does Not Work

9. MC 3: Major Technology Additions Are
Coming
 Smart inverters
 Full control & communication
 Penetration beyond 15% IEEE limit
 Grid stability
 Storage
 Customer economics
 Round the clock operation
*

10. MC 3: Major Technology Additions Are
Coming
* Credit David Kaplan 1Energy Systems
*

11. MC 4: Unprecedented Growth
Predicted
Current Approach, If Not Changed, Will Yield
Negative Gross Margins Across Industry

12. Mega Challenge Solution Defined
 Unified data set to address multiple needs
 System designers
 System operators & maintainers
 Grid operators
 Asset managers
 Investors
 Based on standards
 Transparency
 Interoperability
 Scalability
 Adaptable to changing energy market
 New policies
 New energy markets
 New technologies

13. Data
Exchange
& Data API
Financial Markets
Energy Exchanges
Utilities
Asset Managers,
Owners & Aggregators
SunSpec Smart™
There’s a Spec for That!
SunSpec Smart
Energy Devices
Smart Panels
Smart Combiners
Smart Energy Storage
Smart Instruments & Controllers
Smart Inverters & Micro-inverters
oSPARC
Data
Exchange
& Data API
Data
Exchange
& Data API
Data
Exchange
& Data API
SunSpec Smart
Systems and
Fleets
Actuary
Data Base
Example:

14. SunSpec Smart: End-to-End Solutions
SunSpec Data Exchange SunSpec Data API
WAN/Cloud
SunSpecSmart
Storage
SunSpecSmart
Inverter
SunSpecSmart
Panel
SunSpecSmart
Meter
SunSpecSmart
StringCombiner
SunSpecSmart
Enviro
SunSpecSmart
Tracker
SunSpec Data Exchange SunSpec Data API
SunSpec Plant Definition
Operations Asset Management Maintenance
Grid ControlInvestor Reporting Service Continuity
Devices
Applications
LAN/Field Bus
Networks & Data Services

15. SunSpec Smart Means Interoperability
Multi-Site, Multi-
Application, Simultaneous
Monitoring
Loggerware
Commercial
Power Plant
320 kW DC
AC
DC
INV
Weather
Logger
Internet
Loggerware

16. California Rule 21 Defined
 Interconnection regulation for the state
 Addresses customer-sited
Distributed Energy Resources (DER)
 Phase 1 revision ratified December 18,
2014

17. Rule 21 Revision Progress
The clock is ticking…

18. CA Rule 21 Implications
 Autonomous inverter functions permitted now
 Applies to all DER, with or without storage
 Volt/VAR, frequency modulation, time-of-use, etc.
 Communication and dynamic control coming
 36 month rollout anticipated
 Driving IEEE 1547 and UL 1741 development
 Business models will change
 Incentives, penalties to be negotiated in CPUC soon
 Wholesale market participation is possible
 Entire supply chain will be impacted

19. SunSpec CEC Staff Recommended Design Win*
 Smart inverter standardization,
testing, and go-to-market program to
enable high PV penetration beyond
the 15% IEEE guideline
 Seven smart inverter brands plus
energy storage included
 UCSD lab test & 50-unit field trial
with PV, storage, and EV chargers in
SCE grid
 Demonstrates DER participation in
wholesale power markets
* Award to be confirmed at upcoming CEC hearing.

20. Inverter
Under
Test
SunSpec
System
Validation
Platform
Control
Monitor
DC
Input
AC In/Out
Grid
Simul
Test Harness Scope
UI
Python
Web Service
Modbus Master
Vary:
Voltage
Frequency
Reactive Load
HTTP
SunSpec Inverter
Control Protocol
SunSpec System Validation Platform

21. 2015 SunSpec Program
 SunSpec Smart™ Device expansion
 Inverter control
 Storage
 SunSpec Certified™ Program expansion
 25 companies certified to date
 Available online and on demand
 SunSpec Adoption partnerships
 SEFA: targeted outreach to banks, investors, and specifiers
 MESA: tailored solutions for utility-sited storage
 Intersolar: producing Finance & Asset conferences in SF and Munich
 SunSpec ALPS™
 Asset Lifecycle Performance Standards for downstream implementers
 Data Exchange, Data API, Asset Management, oSPARC

22. 24
Copyright 2014 SunSpec Alliance
oSPARC Role In Finance
Liquidity and Price
Transparency
Consistency in
Cash Flows
Tools to Conduct
Due Diligence
Investor
Confidence in
Asset
Performance
Feedback from
Rating Agencies
and Investors
Support
O&M Cost
Modeling
Establish Best Practices In
Performance Monitoring
Support Portfolio
Data Tape Modeling
Performance
Data
oSPARC
Perform
Warranty
Assessment
Performance
Data

23. 25
Copyright 2014 SunSpec Alliance
Back-Up
oSPARC Foundation
PV Array
Utility Grid
Facility Load
Energy Storage
Inverter
IEC 61724: Guidelines for Measurement, Data Exchange and Analysis for PV systems
IEC 61850: A Standard for the Design of Electrical Substation Automation

24. SunSpec Energy Storage
SunSpec Energy
Storage Models
800 Series Specifications
Energy Storage
Battery Technologies:
Lithium, Lead, Flow
MESA-PCS Specification
Vendor ID 64800
Meters
Controller
SunSpec Inverter
Models
100 Series Specifications
SunSpec Meter
Models
200 Series Specifications

25. 27
Copyright 2014 SunSpec Alliance
Data Driven: Asset Lifecycle Performance Standards
Modeling,
Concept and
Design
Installation
Initial
Commissioning
Secondary
Commissioning
Operations and
Maintenance
End-Of-Life
Model
Improvement
Design Docs
Contracts
Permits
Financials
Credit
IE Report
O&M Plan
As-Builts
Financials
Contracts
Service Record
O&M
Commission Reports
Updated Financials
Contracts
O&M
Re-Commission Reports
Asset management
Updated Financials
O&M
Service Log
Recycling
Disposal

26. SunSpec Storage Devices Details
 Spec focused on small set of models to start
 Base Storage Model (801)
• Nameplate capacity, nameplate charge rates, etc.
 Battery Storage Model (802)
• Common attributes of battery storage systems
 Lithium Ion Battery Model (803)
• Module temperatures, cell voltages, bank and string state of charge, alarms and
warnings, etc.
 Enable standard use cases
 Energy shifting
 Peak shaving
 Voltage & frequency support
 Power smoothing
 Expand to other storage technologies in future
 Prioritize based on market demand
 SunSpec Energy Storage Models specification status
 Draft available now at www.SunSpec.org
 Comment period open now, next draft: Q2 2015

27. SunSpec Alliance
 Now is the time to mobilize
 Many engagement points for members
 Standards development
 Application deployment
 Ecosystem leverage & engagement
 Market access
 Let’s build a scalable industry together

28. 30
Discussion
Contact Tom Tansy for more information - tom@sunspec.org - 831-227-1073
Open Information
Standards
for Distributed Energy