RETC (Renewable Energy Test Center), a subsidiary of VDE, has announced the successful acquisition of SolarPTL LLC. By combining capabilities, RETC and SolarPTL will provide clients with the industry’s best in the testing and certification of renewable energy products and systems.

Funded by the U.S. government and led by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) from 1975 to 1986, the FSA Project marks the genesis of the terrestrial solar market. RETC looks back at JPL’s ground-breaking work in the first of a series of articles about major milestones in PV module reliability and durability testing.

The value proposition associated with large-format PV modules is so compelling that some industry analysts expect 500 W+ modules to account for 90% of the market by 2025. When evaluating large-format module designs for specific applications, however, keep in mind that upfront savings may come at a cost.

In May 2019, hail damaged some 400,000 modules at the Midway Solar generating facility in West Texas, resulting in a previously unimaginable $80 million in insured losses. Recognizing that basic certification test standards are inadequate to identify and quantify the project risks associated with hail, RETC developed its innovative Hail Durability Test (HDT) program.

RETC is pleased to announce that David Brearley has joined the RETC team. As North American product marketing manager for VDE, the SolarPro magazine veteran will lead strategic communications and content marketing initiatives for VDE Americas and the Renewable Energy Test Center (RETC).