The South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) says the quickest and most effective way to resolve the ongoing debate on safety and compliance for small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) is to finalise the new South African National Standard (SANS) 10142-1 safety standard.

SAPVIA says it has carefully considered the extensive public debates and media coverage on the safety and compliance of SSEG systems – up to 1 MVA – together with the Association of Municipal Electricity Utilities (Ameu), the Electrical Contractors Association of South Africa and the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse.

For nearly ten years, SAPVIA has been advocating for the safe installation of solar PV systems, with due recognition that there are gaps in South Africa’s standards.

As one solution, the organisation introduced the PV Green Card Programme in 2017 as a quality, safety assurance and skills development initiative targeted at electricians.

With the rapid growth of the sector since, more safety issues have come to the fore.

SAPVIA now calls on all stakeholders to work collaboratively to ensure the highest standards of safety and compliance for SSEG.

The organisation explains the SANS 10142-1 standard is in the last stage of development at the South African Bureau of Standards before being released for public consultation within the next six months. SAPVIA, therefore, urges stakeholders to help resolve any current impasse and that affected entities responsibly take part in the public comment process.

The updated version of SANS 10142-1 is specifically designed to consider the latest technical requirements for PV systems, while addressing the system sign-off responsibilities and issuance of test reports. SAPVIA believes these aspects will resolve many of the current technical and regulatory issues faced by installers, municipalities and end-users.

“We are at a critical juncture for the South African energy transition,” says SAPVIA CEO Dr Rethabile Melamu. She adds that the new SANS 10142-1 standard has been years in the making and that only constructive debate can lead to finalisation of the standard.

“We must pull together to get this crucial standard over the line. Once SANS 10142-1 is published, we expect municipalities and the Ameu will have the clarity they need regarding installation quality, allowing them to relax the current, often burdensome, requirements for sign-off on standard SSEG systems, thus unlocking faster deployment,” Melamu states.