Abstract: . . .  providers have concluded that purchasing power from customers with their own PV systems is less expensive and/or less risky than investing in larger, central-station PV power plants. Conclusions Utilities and their customers can benefit from eliminating barriers to interconnection of customer-sited PV systems. The recent approval of nationally-recognized technical standards for PV applications allow utilities to interconnect PV systems with confidence that their safety and power quality concerns have . . .
. . .  embrace the use of PV systems in their distribution systems, with the potential to maintain or enhance revenue streams, reduce costs, capture administrative efficiencies, and realize significant public relations benefits that promote customer satisfaction and loyalty.  . . .
. . . BARRIERS AND SOLUTIONS TO INTERCONNECTION ISSUES FOR SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS By Thomas J. Starrs Kelso Starrs & Associates LLC 14502 SW Reddings Beach Road Vashon, WA 98070-6814 Phone: 206-463-7571 Fax: 206-463-7572 E-mail: kelstar@nwrain.com Prepared for the Solar . . .
. . .  of customer-sited PV systems. The recent approval of nationally-recognized technical standards for PV applications allow utilities to interconnect PV systems with confidence that their safety and power quality concerns have been addressed. Simplified interconnection agreements reduce of eliminate the need for project-specific review, which is labor-intensive and costly. Utilities can take advantage of these and other technical and policy innovations to embrace the use of PV systems in their distribution . . .
. . .  study requirements, there is anecdotal information of fees for PV systems in the range of $400 to $900. In one recently-published case study,5 the owner of a 900 Watt PV system was required to pay $600 for an engineering study to determine what safety issues might arise from having dual inverters on a single feeder (the customer also owned a small wind turbine that was already interconnected). Based on the study, the utility required the installation of separate protective relays at an additional $600 . . .
. . .  nationally-recognized technical standards for PV applications allow utilities to interconnect PV systems with confidence that their safety and power quality concerns have been addressed. Simplified interconnection agreements reduce of eliminate the need for project-specific review, which is labor-intensive and costly. Utilities can take advantage of these and other technical and policy innovations to embrace the use of PV systems in their distribution systems, with the potential to maintain or enhance . . .
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