Industry First Standard for Distributed Power Architecture Supports Interoperability among PV Component Suppliers to Deliver High Performance, Lower Cost Systems

San Francisco, CA.—July 9, 2013—The HDPV Alliance, an industry alliance aimed at reducing photovoltaic (PV) balance of system (BOS) costs while increasing energy production from PV plants, today published its HDPV Inverter Standard. As HDPV's first published standard, it contains the protocols to help PV inverter manufacturers optimize product functionality to deliver up to twice the rated output power to reduce inverter costs by up to 50 percent. Products and services compatible with Alliance standards give an edge to members who will have a more cost-effective solution that provides superior ROI.

Several inverter manufacturers have put HDPV standard specifications into practice since the Alliance launched in September 2012. Formed by some of the industry's leading manufacturers of inverters, modules, monitoring software, junction boxes and cables, the HDPV Alliance is a network of companies working together to realize up to 50 percent improvement in PV system return on investment (ROI).
The goals of HDPV, or High Definition PV, are to facilitate collaboration among member companies to take advantage of distributed power conversion (DPC) architectures, and to make it easy for project developers and integrators to identify and source products that provide the HDPV advantage. Publishing interoperability standards like the new inverter standard supports these goals.
"HDPV's Inverter Standard gives suppliers and customers alike a structured compliance mechanism for understanding and assuring the requirements of interconnectivity and interoperability will be met both now and over time as products and technologies evolve," said David Devir, HDPV Alliance Interoperability Committee Chair. "Through defined standards, tested compatibility, and shared best practices, HDPV is building and marketing a strong member network of HDPV compatible suppliers and confident buyers."

HDPV's inverter standard is the first in a series of published standards to be released that ensure end-to-end compatibility among components involved in distributed power architecture.

"The solar industry faces intense pressure to drive down costs, and a distributed power architecture provides a viable solution," said HDPV Alliance Chair Mark Kanjorski. "Both buyers and technology suppliers want to have standards so that components come together seamlessly within this optimized system architecture. That was the genesis for HDPV, which was founded to create standards that promote interoperability for products sourced from its members."

The HDPV Alliance helps suppliers differentiate and deliver more value, and is open to new members who want to offer HDPV compatible products or services. Companies throughout the PV industry are encouraged to join, including system developers and engineering, procurement and construction companies (EPCs), manufacturers or distributors of inverters, modules, BOS components, software monitoring and operations and maintenance (O&M) providers.

For more information and to receive a copy of the standard, inverter manufacturers can click here. Companies interested in applying for membership to the HDPV Alliance can find more information at HDPV.org.

About the HDPV Alliance
HDPV, or High Definition PV, is the solar industry's standard for delivering a greater concentration of solar energy in kWh by providing higher resolution power optimization, information gathering and controls level at a much lower cost than previously achievable. The HDPV Alliance is an initiative to enable PV project developers, systems integrators, and EPCs to easily identify and source solutions that provide higher performance at a lower cost – the HDPV Advantage. The Alliance enables inverter manufacturers to deliver products that are compliant with an open set of HDPV standards, and to provide increased value to their customers. Membership in the Alliance lets customers know that your products or services feature the HDPV Advantage, and streamlines the process of building cost-effective solutions. Companies throughout the PV industry are encouraged to join.