The recently completed Certification Body Testing Laboratory will make it easier for Taiwan’s photovoltaic cell manufacturers to sell their products on the international market, the state-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute said June 21.
Built under the direction of ITRI, the CBTL is the third lab in the world to have met all requirements set forth by the International Electrotechnical Commission, a global organization that manages conformity assessment systems for electrical and electronic products, systems and services.
“All solar panels manufactured by Taiwanese firms have to pass IEC testing procedures before they are allowed to enter the market,” according to Duann Jia-ruey, director of ITRI’s Center for Measurement Standards.
“With the completion of the lab, domestic manufacturers can spend much less time undergoing tests in foreign nations,” he added.
Taiwanese solar cell manufacturers can now pass all required tests at a one-stop domestic lab, a process that will allow them to cut costs and help their products reach markets more quickly, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The MOEA noted that the nation’s solar energy companies generated NT$177 billion (US$6.1 billion) in revenues in 2010. Their total output last year was 3 gigawatts, making Taiwan the world’s second largest solar panel producer, behind only mainland China.
ITRI has been working on the lab since 2009. The CTBL reached a major milestone this April after it received two certificates issued by the IEC.
A centerpiece of the lab is a fire testing system that measures the interaction between flame and wind force to determine under what situations photovoltaic modules are likely to catch fire, according to ITRI.
The lab can test large-sized panels measuring 2.6 meters by 2.2 meters, and withstand temperatures as high as 1,200 degrees Celsius, ITRI said, noting that 80 percent of the lab was developed by joint efforts between ITRI and domestic companies.
The two other labs in the world to have been certified by the IEC are Japan Electrical Safety and Environment Technology Laboratories and Underwriters Laboratories Inc. of the U.S.
