New lab to address solar testing shortfall

Several companies confirmed their faith in the growing solar power industry this week, as a flurry of new deals bolstered the industry's supply chain and injected new capital into the solar manufacturing and installation sectors.

Underwriters Laboratories, which specialises in compliance testing, opened a 20,000 square foot testing facility for photovoltaic cells in San Jose.

The company's renewable energy industry manager Evelyn Butler said that it currently has nine to 12 months of testing work lined up and hopes that the new facility will allow it to cut the time it takes complete these projects to six months. She added the move would help reduce time to market for manufacturers in California's burgeoning solar industry.

The facility, which the firm claims is the largest in North America, is able to test thin film and crystalline solar cells, Butler said. "A typical crystalline module can cost $40,000 or so to test, although it depends on the complexity of the product itself," she added.

Tests include cycling between extreme temperatures to test for weather hardiness. That test can take 45 days, and the total testing period is around 80-85 days. The facility will be able to test around 350 products per year, Butler said.

Doug Pane, director of business development at SolarTech, an initiative from the Silicon Valley Leadership Group designed to promote the Californian solar industry, said that testing facilities have been in short supply. "Getting test and certification was difficult," he said. "So, to solve that problem for industry, we had to establish a local testing and certification lab for PV products close to the source of innovation for the companies themselves."

In related news, two solar companies have also received a financial boost this week. Solar cell manufacturer Evergreen Solar signed a long-term $1.2bn sales contract with German solar panel distributor IBC Solar. IBC Solar will use the panels in its operations, which include resale to installation companies, and direct implementation of utility-scale projects.

Meanwhile, "solar as a service" specialist Recurrent Energy scooped up $75m in investment funding for its commercial and industrial installation business, which sells solar power installation services to business customers. The company, which sells the services under a power purchase agreement, received the funding from Hudson Clean Energy. The installer recently secured a deal for a 5MW plant with the City of San Francisco.