A Primer on the Unintentional Islanding Protection Requirement in IEEE Std 1547-2018

This NREL report provides an introductory summary of the unintentional islanding protection requirements in the revised Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standard 1547-2018 (IEEE Std 1547-2018).

Technical Report

A Primer on the Unintentional Islanding Protection Requirement in IEEE Std 1547-2018 (Narang et al. 2022)
This document provides informative material on the requirements related to unintentional islanding in IEEE Std 1547-2018, with the intent to equip the reader with basic knowledge and background information to improve understanding and use of the requirements specified.

Topics Covered

  • Description of unintentional islanding
  • Functional requirements in IEEE Std 1547-2018
  • Review of methods to prevent unintentional islands
  • Testing and certification process
  • Common safety and equipment protection concerns
  • Guidelines to determine risk of unintentional islanding

Key Takeaways

IEEE Std 1547-2018 states requirements for unintentional islanding in only half a page in Clause 8.1; however, this topic has historically been and continues to be of high concern and debate in the industry. This document is intended to provide an overview of the subject to equip the reader with a general awareness of the technical requirements that all IEEE Std 1547-2018 compliant distributed energy resources must meet and methods used to mitigate common issues and concerns.


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