Standards Australia and Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) have entered into an agreement to appoint JAS-ANZ as the Australian Member Body for the IECRE Renewable Energy Conformity Assessment System. This is an addition to the existing agreement for IECEE, IECQ and IECEx.
This membership allows Australian businesses to gain acceptance as testing laboratories, certification bodies and inspection bodies in renewable energy and will position Australia on the global stage for skills and technology development.
Currently there are no IECRE accepted conformity assessment bodies in Australia, and travel restrictions due to Australia’s closed borders have made it challenging to use international parties. Local businesses and industries are struggling with the lack of IECRE accepted conformity assessment bodies and there will likely be delays to projects while these borders remain closed.
Australia is known for its world class development in renewable energy, and it’s believed that membership, and eventual acceptance will only build domestic skillsets and ensure Australia is operating with, and to, the highest international standards. Membership also allows Australia the opportunity to have full ownership of conformity assessment services that can be exported globally.
Membership of the IECRE has been driven by Australian companies. Fulcrum3D first bought the issue to attention, with an urgent requirement from a client for a small wind farm. The wind farm needed to be assessed by an IECRE accepted testing laboratory, but due to international travel bans during COVID there was no one available. This uncovered an urgent market need in the industry.
“The Australian industry has historically relied on international consultants for conformity assessment services. This, of course, became more challenging in 2020, which highlighted the need for capability in this area. Fulcrum3D is a market leader in renewable energy technology so gaining acceptance as an IECRE conformity assessment body is a natural progression for us,” said Dr Colin Bonner, Managing Director of Fulcrum 3D.
“Australia’s electricity grids have comparatively high levels of wind and solar penetration compared to most other countries. As a result, we are solving problems that many other parts of the world will face in the future, which puts us in a great position to export our technology and expertise globally”.
“IECRE membership and acceptance is vital to ensure that the industry operates to international standards and ensures that we remain competitive in the global market. While the process of gaining membership has been lengthy, the teams at JAS-ANZ and Standards Australia have made it as smooth as possible. We’re looking forward to obtaining IECRE acceptance and the important work that will come from it,” Dr Bonner concluded.
