Jun 9 2010
Astronergy announced that their a-Si/uc-Si tandem junction high-efficiency thin film PV modules have independently received the German-based TUV certification and the US-based UL certification.
Its thin film PV products have successfully passed all certification tests based on IEC 61646 and IEC 61730 standards including damp-heat, mechanical load, humidity-freeze and thermal cycling. The results reaffirm the reliability of high-efficiency thin film PV, deemed safe for commercial use in various applications. The panels also broke through the 9% stabilized conversion efficiency level, reaching average 9.2% in production.
"TUV and UL certifications on our thin film modules will help us accelerate the development of thin film markets in Europe and in the US," Astronergy CEO Dr. Liyou Yang explained, "a-Si/uc-Si tandem junction high- efficiency thin film has a significantly shorter energy payback time and its manufacturing process is more environmentally friendly compared to traditional wafer based PV. Our expansion in thin film production will help us meet the demands of the growing thin film market; these certifications are a crucial step in expanding our market share."
In 2009, Astronergy completed construction on the first high-efficiency tandem junction thin film production line in mainland China, with plans to increase thin film capacity to 300 MW by 2011.
Source: http://www.astronergy.com/