SolarBuyer Partners With the Photovoltaik Institute to Provide Independently Quality-Assured, Investment-Grade PV Modules

SolarBuyer Partners With the Photovoltaik Institute to Provide Independently Quality- Assured, Investment-Grade PV Modules PR Newswire BERLIN, June 13, 2012 BERLIN, June 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- SolarBuyer, a specialized procurement management company based in Berlin, Germany, and the PI- Photovoltaik Institute Berlin AG (PI-Berlin), a leading test and certification laboratory headquartered in Berlin, Germany, have created the solar industry's first one-stop shop for professional PV module procurement, independent quality assurance and expert product testing services. The new partnership enables SolarBuyer to offer enhanced module procurement services for project developers, installers and banks that now includes independent module testing by PI-Berlin. The new testing service is focused on evaluating the long-term performance and reliability of PV modules in order to help the buyer secure financing from banks and investors. A new certification (PI-Cert) is available for manufacturers who successfully pass all the tests. The newly developed service includes a broad range of PV module performance tests, including some tests which are not part of today's standard IEC or UL testing, but have an important influence on the field performance of modules. It also significantly extends standard IEC-based module stress testing and is designed to identify any critical failure mechanisms in the modules being tested.