Recent actions taken by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to protect the reliability of the U.S. bulk power system target inverter-based resources (IBRs).

IBRs are solar photovoltaic, wind, fuel cell and battery storage resources that use power electronic devices to change DC power produced by generators to AC power to be transmitted on the bulk-power system. As use of this technology grows, it is important to ensure that IBRs do not adversely impact the technical reliability of the grid.

FERC’s orders include three IBR-focused actions:

• An order directing the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) to develop a plan to register the entities that own and operate IBRs
• A notice of proposed rulemaking to direct NERC to develop reliability standards for IBRs that cover data sharing, model validation, planning and operational studies, and performance requirements
• An order approving reliability standards that are related to IBRs, which NERC proposed earlier this year