The CFV Solar Test Laboratory, a photovoltaic certification test company jointly owned by the CSA Group, VDE Testing and Certification Institute, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems and Fraunhofer USA Center for Sustainable Energy Systems, has begun operations in Albuquerque, N.M.
The CFV laboratory offers complete certification and non-certification testing services for PV technologies not readily available at other test locations, including flat-panel, thin-film and concentrated PV (CPV) testing.
The facility will help manufacturers enter the market more rapidly and at a lower cost, as the laboratory can simultaneously certify solar panels for use in multiple countries and meet the unique standards for each country, according to the lab owners.
Testing in the 25,000 square-foot indoor lab will include climate chambers for thermal cycling and humidity freeze up of panels to 4m x 2.5m; a large-area AAA+ rated solar simulator with temperature-controlled enclosure for performance measurements; and access to a five-acre outdoor testing area with single- and two-axis trackers for accelerated light soaking and CPV testing.
SOURCE: CSA Group
