The panels and batteries being sold to you must be certified by OGPe

It is a pre-sale quality control. The idea is that a panel, an inverter or a battery installed in Puerto Rico has been evaluated against international standards before it reaches anyone’s roof, and that the manufacturer has committed in writing to a minimum warranty. The one who files the application is the one selling the equipment, not the homeowner. But the homeowner is the one who benefits if they know what to ask: if the vendor cannot show you the equipment’s certification, or the warranty letter falls short of the minimums the manual demands, you have a concrete reason to hesitate before signing. The filing is made through the Single Business Portal and the certification issues automatically once payment completes.

The filing corresponds to whoever is going to sell the equipment for installation in Puerto Rico. The manual adds a broader case in its Additional Detail section: apart from the specifically listed equipment, any other equipment to be sold or installed in the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico with the intention that it qualify for incentives under Act 73, Act 241 or any analogous law, to produce energy from renewable sources — including but not limited to solar, wind, geothermal, ocean-thermal, ocean-kinetic and hydroelectric energy, methane recovery through high technology and alternate thermal conversion technology — must be evaluated and certified, prior to installation, by the OEPPe.

• For photovoltaic modules: a safety certification issued by an NRTL — UL-1703 for crystalline or thin-film modules, UL-8703 for concentrator modules — and a power and characteristics certification by an NRTL: IEC 61215 for crystalline silicon, IEC 61646 for thin film, IEC 62108 for concentrators.Verified against the official source
• For photovoltaic modules, a manufacturer warranty letter for a minimum of 90% of STC capacity at 10 years and a minimum of 80% of STC capacity at 20 years.Verified against the official source
• For inverters and charge controllers: a compliance certification issued by an NRTL to standard UL Std. 1741, manufacturer technical specifications, and a warranty letter of a minimum of 5 years.Verified against the official source
• For batteries: a technical data sheet with nominal voltage, storage capacity in amp-hours, materials and type of charge and discharge cycle, and the battery must be deep cycle.Verified against the official source
• For solar heaters, domestic or commercial use: a technical data sheet, a compliance certification issued by an NRTL to ISO 9806-2, EN 12976 or the SRCC OG-300 standard, and a warranty letter of a minimum of 5 years.Verified against the official source
• For small wind turbines: certification of compliance with at least one of these standards — IEC 61400-2 and IEC 61400-11 issued by an NRTL, AWEA 9.1-2009, or SWCC including its certification seal — plus manufacturer technical specifications and warranty letter.Verified against the official source

• The technical specifications developed by the manufacturer, required for every equipment type.
• The manufacturer’s warranty letter, with the minimum years or capacity corresponding to the equipment type.
• For large wind turbines: a certification signed by a licensed professional engineer with active college membership stating compliance with standard IEC 61400-1 or an equivalent.

1. 1

   Step 1: If you are buying: ask for the certification and read the warranty

   Before signing a solar contract, ask the vendor for the Renewable Energy Equipment Certification of the equipment they will install, and ask for the manufacturer’s warranty letter. That is where you have an objective yardstick: for a photovoltaic module, the manual requires the warranty letter to commit to a minimum of 90% of STC capacity at ten years and a minimum of 80% at twenty. For inverters, charge controllers and solar heaters, a minimum of five years. If the proposal you are given promises less than that, or if the vendor cannot show you any certification, you have a concrete question to ask before committing.

2. 2

   Step 2: Check that the battery is deep cycle

   For batteries, the manual requires a technical data sheet with nominal voltage, storage capacity in amp-hours, materials and type of charge and discharge cycle, and sets one requirement that admits no nuance: the battery must be deep cycle. Add the manufacturer’s technical specifications and warranty letter. If you are offered a battery bank and the data sheet does not say deep cycle, that equipment does not meet what OGPe requires for certification.

3. 3

   Step 3: If you are filing: prepare the documents by equipment type

   The application is filed in the Single Business Portal by choosing CER under the Permits or All box. Requirements change by equipment. Photovoltaics: NRTL safety certification (UL-1703 for crystalline or thin film, UL-8703 for concentrators), NRTL power and characteristics certification (IEC 61215, IEC 61646 or IEC 62108 by type), manufacturer technical specifications and a warranty letter with the minimums of 90% at ten years and 80% at twenty. Inverters and charge controllers: NRTL compliance certification to UL Std. 1741, technical specifications and a minimum five-year warranty. Batteries: technical data sheet, specifications and warranty. Solar heaters, domestic or commercial: technical data sheet, NRTL certification to ISO 9806-2, EN 12976 or SRCC OG-300, and a minimum five-year warranty. Small wind turbines: certification to IEC 61400-2 and IEC 61400-11 by an NRTL, or AWEA 9.1-2009, or SWCC with its seal, plus specifications and warranty. Large wind turbines: a certification signed by a licensed professional engineer with active college membership to standard IEC 61400-1 or equivalent.

4. 4

   Step 4: If you cannot obtain a wind turbine’s NRTL certification

   The manual contemplates the case. Where for just cause the NRTL certification stating compliance with standard IEC 61400-2 or IEC 61400-11 cannot be presented, OGPe may, at its discretion, require an explanatory memorandum signed and under the seal of a licensed professional engineer certifying that the equipment meets the design, quality and safety parameters generally accepted and used in the wind industry. Note the word discretion: it is an OGPe power, not a right of yours.

5. 5

   Step 5: Pay, and do not leave the application open

   Two deadlines matter. First: the certification will issue automatically once you complete the corresponding payment, so there is no evaluation wait after paying. Second, and this is the expensive one: the service application will remain open for a maximum term of thirty days for the applicant to complete it. Once that term passes without completion or without all required documents uploaded, the applicant must begin the application process again. It is not an extension: it is starting over.

The CER application is filed in OGPe’s Single Business Portal, choosing Renewable Energy Equipment Certification under Permits or All. The applicant manual and the rest of the filing manuals are published in the Information Sources section of permisos.pr.gov.

• Signing a solar contract without asking for the equipment certification or the manufacturer’s warranty letter.
• Accepting a photovoltaic module warranty below 90% of capacity at 10 years and 80% at 20.
• Buying a battery bank whose data sheet does not say the batteries are deep cycle.
• Believing the equipment certification also covers the installation or the installer: it certifies the equipment.
• Filing an application and leaving it incomplete for more than thirty days, which forces starting the process over.
• Submitting models of different brands in one application: each application covers up to ten models of the same brand and type.
• Paying the new-equipment fee for existing equipment, when the manual sets $10 for that case.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos (OGPe)

  OGPe

  docs.pr.gov

• OGPe Information Sources: Single Business Portal filing manuals

  ogpe

  www.permisos.pr.gov