MNRE Extends Deadline for Inputs on Indian Draft Standards For Photovoltaic Grid Tie Inverters Till 7 May

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued a notification stating the Extension of date for providing comments/inputs on the draft Standard on Technical requirements for Photovoltaic Grid Tie Inverters to be connected to the Utility Grid in India till 7th May 2020

The Ministry stated that “In view of the requests received from experts and industries, the date for providing comments/inputs on the said draft document has been extended up to 7th May 2020.”

On 23rd April, The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has released the draft standards for “Technical requirements for Photovoltaic Grid Tie Inverters to be connected to the Utility Grid in India”.The notice asks stakeholders to provide their inputs and comments to the Ministry positively by 30/4/2020.

The order stated that “To ensure the quality and reliability relevant IS/IEC Standards covering safety, efficiency, environmental and islanding prevention measures tests for Utility-Interconnected Photovoltaic Inverters have been perused. Further, to make the process of testing simple and consistent, a view has been taken to develop an inclusive standard for Photovoltaic Grid Tie Inverters for complete performance evaluation for grid-interactive applications for quality and reliability assurance in Indian conditions.”

As per the document, The grid test voltage shall be 230 V a.c. phase to neutral 50 ±0.1 Hz, unless otherwise specified. For environmental testing, the inverter shall be operated in nominal operating condition in an ambient of 50°C ± 2°C with a relative humidity of 93% ± 3% for a minimum time duration of 13- 48hours. 

The MNRE series guidelines shall be referred to for selecting the samples from a single family of inverters and The equipment shall be connected and configured per the manufacturer’s instruction, where the outcome of testing could be affected.

Recently, The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government Of India has announced the extension of Off-Grid and Decentralized Solar PV Applications Program Phase – III. Off-Grid and Decentralized Solar PV Applications Program Phase – III was launched by the ministry on 07-08-2018 and the scheme was valid for financial years 2018-19 and 2019-20. As per the recent notification by MNRE the program will now continue till 31.03.2021 within the approved financial outlay mentioned in Administrative Approval dated 07.08.2018. The notice states that “The implementation agencies will continue to implement the Scheme as per the approved Guidelines dated 07.08.2018 and amendment(s) thereof. During the extended period i.e. FY 2020-21, the sanction of new projects under the Scheme will be available only in the North-Eastern Region.”