Evaluation of Interoperable Distributed Energy Resources to IEEE 1547.1 Using SunSpec Modbus, IEEE 1815, and IEEE 2030.5

The American distributed energy resource (DER) interconnection standard, IEEE Std. 1547, was updated in 2018 to include standardized interoperability functionality. As state regulators begin ratifying these requirements, all DER—such as photovoltaic (PV) inverters, energy storage systems (ESSs), and synchronous generators—in those jurisdictions must include a standardized SunSpec Modbus, IEEE 2030.5, or IEEE 1815 (DNP3) communication interface. Utilities and authorized third parties will interact with these DER interfaces to read nameplate information, power measurements, and alarms as well as configure the DER settings and grid-support functionality. In 2020, the certification standard IEEE 1547.1 was revised with test procedures for evaluating the IEEE 1547-2018 interoperability requirements. In this work, we present an open-source framework to evaluate DER interoperability. To demonstrate this capability, we used four test devices: a SunSpec DER Simulator with a SunSpec Modbus interface, an EPRI-developed DER simulator with an IEEE 1815 interface, a Kitu Systems DER simulator with an IEEE 2030.5 interface, and an EPRI IEEE 2030.5-to-Modbus converter. By making this test platform openly available, DER vendors can validate their implementations, utilities can spot check communications to DER equipment, certification laboratories can conduct type testing, and research institutions can more easily research DER interoperability and cybersecurity. We indicate several limitations and ambiguities in the communication protocols, information models, and the IEEE 1547.1-2020 test protocol which were exposed in these evaluations in anticipation that the standards-development organizations will address these issues in the future.