Delay in getting G59 solar panel approval

DavidSteward

In early December I got a quote for the installation of 6kw/h solar panel system. I accepted the quote and was given an installation date of 20th January. I was told that anything above 4kw/h required approval but that this should not be a problem. I now find that the local Electricity supply people may not come up with a descision until late March.
Why does it take three months and is this normal?

pinnks

I don't know why it can take so long but I suffered similarly in 2013 when they took so long that I decided to stick at 3.5kWp for my first install. 9 months later when I extend the system the OK came through within a couple of weeks from the same people. Seems to be luck of the draw.

Dave_308

DavidSteward wrote: »

In early December I got a quote for the installation of 6kw/h solar panel system. I accepted the quote and was given an installation date of 20th January. I was told that anything above 4kw/h required approval but that this should not be a problem. I now find that the local Electricity supply people may not come up with a descision until late March.
Why does it take three months and is this normal?

G59 refers to the protection setting on the solar feed in relay. This opens the relay if there is a loss of power on the network, as well as keeping things like phases rotation and frequency in check.

Because you are above the 3.6kW threshold of the simpler G83 protection setting. You will have to have the protection tested by a qualified DNO, or DNO recognised, protection engineer. The thing is; in the work of electricity distribution engineers these are a rear and expensive breed.

However this is only for testing that protection works. It sound more like your DNO is having to do a load study on your network. This is to see if the cables, transformers and such can withstand the additional load, and the load flowing in the opposite direction.

Do you have a lot of people close to you with solar panels?

If that is a case and the network is at capacity, then reinforcement could be needed. And if that has to be done, then you could need to provide some, or all of the costs for this. Which is unfortunately bad news for you.

If I was you I would ring your solar supplier up and ask what is taking so long. Or contact your DNO and ask them in person.

I have a link to some documentation regarding G59 from one of the DNO, based on the energy network associations work on this subject. It is a bit on the heavy side, but your DNO may let you use simpler G59 criteria. As i cannot post links yet, i can PM it to you if you like, just give me a shout.

DavidSteward

The day before the 60 working day period for consideration of my G59 application for a 6kw/h solar panel system, the local electricity supply people gave me approval to fit the system. Getting quotes and approval has taken nearly four months, but I should be up and running by next Tuesday.

zeupater

DavidSteward wrote: »

The day before the 60 working day period for consideration of my G59 application for a 6kw/h solar panel system, the local electricity supply people gave me approval to fit the system. Getting quotes and approval has taken nearly four months, but I should be up and running by next Tuesday.

... 60 days for a 5 minute decision .... and people question why overall productivity in the UK is so low compared to our competitors .... :wall:

Z

DavidSteward

Up and running with a 6kW/h system producing on average 22kW per day. Still not sure if the wait was worth it.