Your daily dose of photovoltaic technology developments and solar news

1 SolTech has received full UL/ETL certification for its line of PV panels as well as passing the compliance and testing audit procedures for its factory. 1 SolTech modules feature three bus-bar mono-crystalline silicon cells with high-absorbency and enhanced low-light performance, produced by Suniva.

Kerself S.p.A has signed a letter of intent with Meta System S.p.A in order to secure ownership of Albatech Srl. With the letter of intent, Kerself will own 75% stake of Albatech by the end of 2009 and the additional 25% by the end of 2010.

Intertek has announced that its Lake Forest, California, facility has successfully increased its IECEE CB scheme testing laboratory (CBTL). The facilities new capabilities now include product safety and conformity assessment testing and certification of PV modules to IEC standards.

HelioSphera’s micromorph thin-film PV modules have received IEC61646:2008 and IEC61730:2004 certification and their factory has passed inspection by TÜV Rheinland. The TÜV certification is applicable to the standard glass on glass laminate and the new Venus series module, which was tested at TÜV and received a positive result for the IEC norms.

MiaSolé has received ceritification of standards UL 1703 and IEC 61646 and 61730 for its 100 and 107W CIGS thin-film solar modules. The three certifications were given simultaneously. 

Power conversion company SolarEdge Technologies has been granted certification of its inverter and converter products, gaining the ETL Mark for the North American market. Test and certification organisation company Intertek has completed all necessary safety and grid-connection testing according to the UL 1741 standard, and CSA C22.2 No. 107.1.

As developments to the company’s SunFab thin-film module manufacturing line continue, Applied Materials has managed to cut the cost of materials on the line by 22%. The company’s next-generation module technology was applied to establish some process efficiency updates, coupled with new lower pricing arrangements with materials suppliers.

Underwriters Laboratories has announced its Master and Fast Track Certification Programs, which have been developed to help PV module manufacturers and production equipment manufacturers move products to market faster by using an original approach to certify complete turnkey solution production lines.

Ionomer-based backsheet materials that were launched by DuPont earlier this year for use as thin-film module encapsulants have now been recognized by Underwriters Laboratory. UL recognition assures that encapsulants have been manufactured using well-documented control practices resulting in predictable performance and consistency and eliminates the need for PV manufacturers to separately test the materials. DuPont’s ‘PV5200’ Series PVB-based sheets and ‘PV5300’ sheets are now UL recognized.

German solar tracking company DEGERenergie has set its sights on the U.S. market as it plans to establish a U.S.-based subsidiary by the end of the first quarter of 2010. The production facility will be located in either Arizona or California, while the subsidiary will oversee the sales, warehousing, customer support and quality assurance. DEGERenergie currently runs two warehouse operations in North America, one in California and the other in Ontario, Canada.