SunSpec IEEE 2030.5 / CSIP Certification
California Rule 21 requires that, by default, Distributed Energy Resources within Investor Owned Utilities (IOU) must utilize the IEEE™ 2030.5-2018 networking standard in the manner described in the SunSpec Common Smart Inverter Profile (CSIP).
Products certified by SunSpec to the 2030.5 standard for wide area communication can be installed on sites connected to California Investor Owned Utilities and have the confidence in their compatibility with local area communication protocols like the freely available SunSpec Modbus Standards.
SunSpec IEEE 2030.5/CSIP Certification Testing must be conducted by one of our Authorized Test Labs (ATLs). Each test lab is free to determine its own testing and fee structures. Once a Certification Application and payment have been submitted to SunSpec a shared space is opened where your ATL test engineer can submit test results for our analysis. SunSpec evaluates the test results for compliance to the SunSpec CSIP and the SunSpec CSIP Test Procedures and then awards the Certificate!
Applicable Components and Scope
Applicable Components
IEEE™ 2030.5 clients, gateways, aggregators and servers. Certification is applicable to software running on embedded devices and cloud services alike.
Scope
- Four scenarios
- Aggregator configuration is clear preference
- Gateway/EMS configurations include certain network segments that are out of scope
Security
The SunSpec Certified Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) program is designed to increase stakeholder confidence in Distributed Energy Resource (DER) communication solutions, including those enabling interoperability of smart inverters, smart PV modules, EV charging, and energy storage.
Public Key Infrastructure is the preferred method of authentication for networked ecosystems due to its strength and scalability. In addition, advances in the hardware and semiconductor industries have allowed for strong authentication using Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) and PKI to be implemented in small devices very economically.
PKI is designated as the method of authentication used for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standard (IEEE Std.) 2030.5 and is therefore the method to be used for authenticating and securing communications for SunSpec Certified™ products and services. Thus, the program’s initial focus is to fulfill California Rule 21 compliance.
The program will then address the rollout of IEEE 1547™-2018. IEEE 1547 establishes uniform requirements for interconnection of DERs, such as photovoltaics and battery systems, with the electric power system.
