MEDIA RELEASE PR35378
Underwriters Laboratories Completes Facility Expansion, Creates Largest Independently
Owned Solar Testing Lab in North America
NORTHBROOK, Ill., July 14 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
With 40 percent more testing capacity, UL's San Jose laboratory helps
deliver solar products to market faster than ever before
Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a world leader in safety testing and
certification, today announced the completion of its photovoltaic testing
facility expansion in San Jose, Calif. The expansion has increased testing
capacity by over 40 percent, making it the largest and most comprehensive
solar testing laboratory of its kind in North America.
UL has invested heavily in solar and other alternative energies such as
wind, as well as new energy efficiency and storage technologies such as LED
and large batteries for electric vehicles in order to meet the growing global
demand for testing services of these new technologies. Investments include
opening new facilities, standards development, certification schemes and
groundbreaking research.
In addition to the U.S. expansion, UL opened a testing facility in
Suzhou, China in early 2009 and has plans to open new facilities in Germany
and Japan in 2010. Also, recently UL achieved CB Testing Laboratory (CBTL)
accreditation at its San Jose facility. The accreditation enables UL to
provide international certifications through harmonization of technical
requirements from over 50 countries across five continents and help
manufacturers achieve global market access faster and more easily. For the
last several years UL remains a leading participant of IECEE CB Scheme, whose
main objective is to facilitate trade by promoting harmonization of the
national standards with international standards.
"With the global solar market expected to generate 10 percent of the
world's total electricity by 2035, we believe, more than ever, safety has to
be a priority in its evolution," said Jeff Smidt General Manager of UL's
Global Energy Business. "Our San Jose facility expansion and CBTL
accreditation are just two examples of our ongoing commitment to the
proliferation of safe, reliable renewable energy solutions globally."
The new expansion to the Photovoltaic Technology Center of Excellence in
San Jose, Calif. brings the total laboratory space to 32,000-square-feet
(2,973-square-meters). The facility now also houses five extra chambers that
assess a variety of PV innovations including crystalline and thin-film
technologies, including BIPV and concentrated PV. UL also tests Recognized
Components such as PV connectors and junction boxes. New employees will also
be hired to meet testing demands.
About Underwriters Laboratories
Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is an independent product safety
certification organization that has been testing products and writing
Standards for Safety for over a century. UL evaluates more than 19,000 types
of products, components, materials and systems annually with 20 billion UL
Marks appearing on 72,000 manufacturers' products each year. UL's worldwide
family of companies and network of service providers includes 64 laboratory,
testing and certification facilities serving customers in 98 countries. For
SOURCE: Underwriters Laboratories
CONTACT: Yassie S. Dunn of Underwriters Laboratories
+1-847-664-3056,
Yassie.Dunn@us.ul.com;
or Elizabeth Sherman of GolinHarris
+1-508-444-6453,
esherman@golinharris.com
for Underwriters Laboratories
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