Renewable Energy Test Center is pleased to announce that it has been awarded ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation from The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA). The scope of the ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation applies to all IEC and UL Test Standards required for PV certification, and includes:
--IEC 61215 for c-Si Flat-Plate Panels
--IEC 61646 for Thin Film Flat-Plate Panels
--IEC 62108 for Concentrator PV
--IEC 61730 Standard for Safety for Flat-Plate Panels (Europe)
--IEC 60904 Standard for Cell Testing and Characterization
--UL 1703 Standard for Safety for Flat-Plate Panels (USA)
--ULC/ORD C-1703 Standard for Safety for Flat-Plate Panels (Canada)
"Leveraging on RETC's vast experience in equipment design and fabrication, process development, PV Testing, and Quality Standards, RETC was able to successfully achieve its ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation in a brief three-month period, soon after the official move into our 26,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art PV Testing Laboratory in the heart of the Silicon Valley," states Ms. Alelie Funcell, President and CEO, RETC, LLC. "Our broad range of PV Testing Services, which includes listing to UL 1703 by a NRTL, and ISO/IEC 17025 A2LA accreditation, qualifies us to become an ILAC-Affiliated Laboratory. RETC is now listed by The California Energy Commission (CEC) as one of the ILAC-Affiliated Laboratories for PV."
"TÜV SÜD America is also in the process of obtaining ULC/ORD C-1703 Accreditation from Standards Council of Canada (SCC) through its partnership with RETC. With the lengthy turn-around times of PV testing and certification both in the U.S. and globally, this additional milestone demonstrates the two organizations' drive to further the advancements of solar energy technologies," added Mr. Karsten Xander, President and CEO, TÜV SÜD America.
"RETC's highly experienced PV engineers provide product characterization at cell and module levels, and combined with TÜV SÜD's global presence, reinforce our commitment to bring quality and one-stop-shop testing capabilities in Photovoltaics for our customers," continued Ms. Funcell.
"RETC's achievement complements TÜV SÜD's strategy to deliver a myriad of PV test solutions for long-term small- and medium-scale energy validation and degradation analysis at Multiple Test Sites. This provides various weather patterns / insolation, and soiling rates for Outdoor Testing and Data Collection," concluded Dr. Ing. Robert Puto, Global PV Director, TÜV SÜD.
In mid-2009, TÜV SÜD America and RETC established a cooperative agreement to provide Photovoltaic Testing and Certification Services. The RETC-TÜV SÜD America partnership was established to accelerate TÜV SÜD's plan to bolster a strong foothold in the global solar energy market. TÜV SÜD has existing accreditation to IEC 61215, IEC 61646, IEC 61730, and UL 1741. Additionally, TÜV SÜD provides global testing and certification for Photovoltaics (PV) and renewable energy products, including third-party outdoor performance and reliability testing.
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