Solar PV guidelines and checklists

About a year ago I posted about a “five minute guide” I wrote while still at Arup in Cape Town.  This aims to flag some of the key technical things to consider if you, as a building owner or manager, are considering installing solar PV on your roof.

I came across another resource today; a checklist produced by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, in the US.  This list aims to provide consumers in America with a series of questions or items to check when going ahead with a solar installation.  The aim is to have informed customers, asking the right questions and entering into a contract with a good basis of understanding.  This will hopefully result in service providers being held to an acceptable standard, and a reduction in the number of complaints being made against industry parties.

It’s quite a long list, and may be quite complicated for a layman.  It also suggests asking the installer for various bits of documentation; and it’s quite possible that the average homeowner may receive such documentation and not know if it’s adequate.   But it may be quite a good resource for larger consumers to implement, particularly where both PPA and leasing options are available.  You can find the checklist here.