Solar Lockout and the IBEW's need for a huge jug of prune juice [RE-wrench

[Matt Lafferty]

Jeff / Wrenches:

(Please do not take the following out of context.....This has been building
and, it may be a little premature for sharing but, like any good "sit on the
pot and do your thing" thing, it has to happen.  This would be a nice time
for non-plain-text 'cause then you'd all be able to see how I really
feel....)

The Wrenches in LADWP have kept a significant element of the issue down
there "off-list".

What stirred the hornets' nest, in my understanding, is the fact that some
of the Inverters installed down there Island when there is a loss of
grid-power.  These inverters come in a "White Box" (Trace SW UPV series).

Apparently, possibly (probably) for political reasons, the fact that
Distributed Generation PV is being / has been deployed made somebody say,
"Hey, we can get more money now".

I personally have witnessed the Islanding.  Every time I have tested it.  I
discovered this a while ago, long before the LADWP issue, and urged our
organization to perform testing and, if necessary, to follow up with
proactive action so something like this wouldn't bite us all in the ass.  My
insistence was ignored then.  (I was disappointed at the time but did try,
on all of our behalf.)

Once the LADWP issue came up, I immediately resumed my cry to be proactive.
This time, my cries were heard.  Based on this, we have initiated field
testing of the systems we have like this (Sample of 30 of the approximately
200).  The initial (PRELIMINARY!) results are, in a nutshell, that, yes they
do this but the potential for harm to Lineworkers is very minimal.  The
generation is dissipated via a resistive load or, if the Lineworker follows
Safety Protocol and grounds the conductors, the grounding of the conductors.
(There are other related issues, but this is a nutshell, remember?)

Trace's position, as stated to me in the "dance around the issue" manner to
which I've become accustomed, has been that the current UL standard wasn't
adopted as final (You know, the "Draft" version referred to on their "ETL
Certified to Draft UL Standard 1731" certificate with the Inverter) until
late 2001.  Further, the CEC, etc. has posted a "grandfather" statement
covering these inverters.  That statement doesn't stop those inverters from
islanding.  Nor does it stop the IBEW or any other organization that wants
to put up a stink from their bitch (arguably so from their perspective, in
my opinion) and painting all PV with the same brush.

My opinion  is as follows:  (Actually just a snippet of said opinion.  Those
of you who know me can hear the blood rushing from my tongue, which I am
currently biting as hard as physically possible!)

UL be damned!  IEEE standards, jump off a cliff!  Responsibility and
Integrity are paramount to the overall success of what we should be working
toward.  Standards, Codes, Regulatory Requirements, Government in General
and the growing impact (read as "Fungus") they bring to our lives are the
outgrowth of people and companies not employing "Common Sense" and the
spririt of "Betterment of All".  Greed, Shortsightedness, Politics, Lawyers
and "Me-isms" have hurt us all, in virtually all aspects of our existence,
not just PV Installers.  Did I mention Lawyers?  If not.....Lawyers.

In light of those things being said, UL, IEEE, NEC, UMC, UBC, CSA, ETL, UPC,
etc. have all become required due to those factors.  The society in which we
live here in the States needs them and, whether we like it or not, they are
here and firmly entrenched.  They need direction and should never be given a
"Carte Blanche" free pass to run all over us, but some level of standards is
necessary.  Yes, some would appear to have adopted an attitude of
"untouchable".  Unfortunately they have gotten to this point.  (I can't
allow myself to go into the societal philosophies of that right now)
Without clear, definitive, documentable proof, we have little chance of
shattering that.  Our only hope is to demonstrate that we, as a whole, are
Responsible and have Integrity.

Grid-Tied PV is new, and as such, requires "Mucho Cuidado" in the products
we use, the manner in which we use them and our "end of the day"
installation methods and practices we employ, not just mechanically in the
field but as business-people as well.

None of us are perfect.  I sure as hell am not.  Nor is my program.  We
don't know all the answers but, if we don't learn from our experiences and
mistakes, we are doomed to repeat them.  This is a fundamental purpose for
this list....To share the good and the bad.  Don't ever forsake that,
please!

What has essentially happened is this:  One manufacturer, the only one for a
long time here in the States, has compromised all of us and all that we have
worked to achieve.

Manufacturers that want to play in the Grid-Tied market in particular must
be made to adhere to that Responsibility and Integrity.  Too many eyes are
watching for us to achieve success when "One of Ours" keeps punching us in
the stomach, giving us all the proverbial "Black Eye".

Our feedback to them is as crucial to them successfully meeting our needs as
their response to our feedback is to their success financially.  The time
has passed for us to establish our point with them in time to avoid the
current situation.  Due to the fragmented and "comfortable" nature of our
industry, certain manufacturers have taken advantage of our trust, taken
advantage of our reliance on them, taken advantage of their market position,
taken advantage of being the "800 pound gorilla".

The sad fact is that divorce is a fact of life.  I, unfortunately, have been
divorced in my own life three times.  I'm not a shining example of success
in that area.  I wish things were much different, but they aren't.  What I
can say is that I HAVE LEARNED FROM MY MISTAKES AND AM COMMITTED TO NOT
REPEATING THEM!

I urge all of you to take a real hard look at what you do, who you are, how
you do things, who you are dependent on, the direction(s) you think we
should go in, what you want from all this, how that impacts the World around
you and beyond.  To challenge yourself to find solutions.  To share those
solutions.  Share your victories and your losses!

I am anti-communism.  Anti-union.  Anti-un-Americanism.

I am a realist.  I am pro-individual.  Pro-Choice.  Pro-Responsibility.

Thanks for reading so far.  I have lots more to say but it's the Conference
Championship game.  Go KINGS!  BEAT LA!  Peace to all!

Pray for Sun!

-Matt Lafferty
pvpro at attbi.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeffrey Wolfe, Global Resources" <global at sover.net>
To: <RE-wrenches at topica.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 02, 2002 1:50 PM
Subject: RE: Solar Lockout and the IBEW's need for a huge jug of prune juice
[RE-wrench


> But Matt,
>
> The grid safety issues have been/are being addressed by IEEE with their
> standards. In earlier posts, many folks said that if we wanted to change
the
> way we install PV, we should be working through the Standards Making
bodies,
> not doing some guerilla thing.
>
> How is the IBEW's action in locking out the disco's different from a
> guerilla solar action? They each are taking the action into their own
hands.
> So why does it sound like we should respect the IBEW more than the
> gueruilla? Only because "might makes right"?
>
> If systems are installed to current standards, then we already have safe,
> grid safe, systems. Anyone who thinks otherwise, please tell me
immediately,
> (please also give some reasons). How can we make it into a "win-win" when
> many folks on this list have already made the compromises, pushed the
> standards, and completed, inside the process, the necessary steps to make
> safe, code and standard accepted systems? sounds like it's a "we loses
until
> you decide we can take the winnings we already agreed on" situation.
>
> I'll not launch into a true rant.
>
> Jeff
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Matt Lafferty
> The "grid safety flag" these guys want to wrap themselves in is a tough
one
> to burn.  My opinion is that we shouldn't try to burn it, just fix it if
it
> is a problem.  That way, it is win-win.  We get better, safer, more
reliable
> equipment.  Our customers get better, safer, more reliable equipment.  The
> Lineworkers get better, safer, more reliable equipment.  We all end up
with
> better understanding and ultimately a working relationship.
>
> Just a perspective....
>
> -Matt Lafferty
> pvpro at attbi.com
>

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