To achieve California’s statutory goals for renewable energy, it is necessary for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to have smart inverter functionality. But smart inverter functionality requires communication interfaces, and these interfaces must be interoperable from the many end-device manufacturers and aggregators to utilities. California, through the revision process of Rule 21, has identified the IEEE 2030.5 protocol in an effort to address this need. Without consistent communication software and established compliance test procedures, complex protocols like IEEE 2030.5 will not result in interoperability in the marketplace. Instead, subtle differences in interpretation of the standards and slight differences in implementation of the protocols will prevent systems from working together.

This project addresses this problem by providing a free, open-source IEEE 2030.5 client software. “Open-source” meaning that the actual lines of the software code, not just the executable software, will be provided. The client software, which handles the communications, can then be freely accessed by any company and integrated into any end-device or DER aggregator system. The result is an exact, secure, and consistent handling of communication in each instance. [1]