Sharp receives UL certification for three modules

IIn a move to increase its export activities, the world largest PV cell and module manufacturer Sharp has received UL certification for three of its module types. The UL approval is needed to sell modules in the US.

On Dec. 13, Sharp Corporation received UL certification for three polycrystalline modules, which it needs for sales of PV modules in the US,. The approval under the UL 1703 standard covers models with rated powers of 165 W, 125 W, and 80 W.

Koichi Yamada, junior manager in Sharp’s product planning department, says he hopes the modules will be available sometime in January or February. But he would not say how the modules will be distributed, calling that information confidential. »This is a difficult point for us,« he says. »We are discussing this internally.« A spokesperson at Sharp Laboratories of America thought that modules would be sold directly through Sharp headquarters in Japan.

Last summer, Sharp received IEC 61215 approval from the Technischer Überwachungs-Verein (TÜV), a German certification organization, for its 165 W and 125 W polycrystalline modules, as well as its 175 W monocrystalline module. The modules are distributed by several German companies, among them AET, IBC Solar AG, SES 21, and SolarWorld. At the 17th European PV Conference and Exhibition in October, the Dutch electronics giant Philips announced that it would start selling the 165 W and 125 W polycrystalline modules.

Sharp’s general export sales strategy for modules is based on non-exclusive contracts with local distributors, who sell the modules under their own brands. These companies are either served from Sharp's local electronic departments or trade organizations like Japan’s Sumitomo, which handles parts of Sharp’s solar business in Germany. wph
 

William P. Hirshman
© PHOTON International, January 2002