Jack Amend
With SunSpec Membership and Certification numbers growing at unprecedented levels, the team is hard at work developing resources to further support our members and benefit the broader SunSpec ecosystem. From SunSpec Modbus, to DER Cybersecurity and 2030.5 Profiles for Vehicle to Grid (V2G) and EV Charging applications, SunSpec is committed to providing technical coverage on cutting-edge topics and equipping our Members with the tools needed to thrive in a dynamic regulatory environment.
Entering 2022, the SunSpec Alliance is anticipating yet another year of unprecedented growth. From record-setting additions of new members each month (already seven in January!), to rapidly increasing numbers of products being certified to SunSpec standards, the Alliance is on track to grow in-step with the broader Distributed Energy and Electric Vehicle industries.
While reflecting back on the year’s past, it is clear that the SunSpec Alliance is fueled by an industry of dedicated, hard working individuals and organizations. From our work groups participants, to our webinar attendees, we are consistently impressed by the level of engagement and support from our members and followers.
On November 15th, President Biden passed a 1.2 trillion dollar infrastructure bill, signaling an unequivocal win for the renewable energy industry. With roughly $555 billion allocated to climate and clean energy projects, including tax credits for renewables, energy storage, electric vehicles and the transmission grid, we are excitedly anticipating massive growth in many of the sectors that the SunSpec Alliance is actively developing standards for.
At the core of the SunSpec Alliance ecosystem is a steady momentum of progress driven by the dedicated efforts of our seven primary Work Groups. Consisting of representatives from SunSpec member companies, a designated Work Group leader, and a SunSpec employee, these groups meet weekly or bi-weekly to engage in the active process of standards making. As the year barrels towards a close, we’d like to acknowledge some of the major achievements of these groups and their impacts on the SunSpec ecosystem as a whole.
Addressing new interconnection requirements–including those for advanced inverter electrical functions and corresponding data communication interfaces–is a recurring theme for SunSpec and its members. While some requirements are local, and therefore less urgent to address, at least two national markets, the U.S. and Australia, have implemented changes that have firm deadlines. Companies that meet these deadlines have the potential to reshape the market.
