The next stage of IEA  PVPS Task 5's ongoing efforts to develop standards and codes of practice for the safe interconnection of PV systems to the public grid took place in September 1997.

Representatives from electricity utilities, inverter manufacturers and PV systems suppliers met in Zurich in mid-September to review the state-of-the-art of PV grid-interconnection and identify areas for further action. The main purpose of the meeting was to transfer experiences between the various parties currently involved in the field, and in this respect the workshop was a success.

In all, 73 participants attended the event, representing a vast area of real systems, experience gained through utility actions and international collaboration efforts, including Task 5's demonstration tests undertaken at the Rokko Island testing centre.

Workshop discussions, revolved around a number of key issues, including the cost reduction potential of various advanced inverter technologies. However, perhaps the most interesting revelations were reserved for the session on islanding prevention. Although island conditions (where the PV generator continues to feed power into the grid after a mains failure - an occurrence which could expose maintenance staff to electrocution risks) can be recreated under laboratory conditions, there are no experiences of a similar situation arising under actual field conditions.

Workshop proceedings, including a summary of the discussion sessions, are now under preparation and will be available for distribution later in the year.

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