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KYOCERA Solar Modules Successfully Pass TÜV Rheinland’s Salt Mist Corrosion Test

IEC61701:2011 Edition 2, Severity Level 6 is highest testing level in the industry

Scottsdale, AZ – March 17, 2014 – Kyocera announced today that its entire product line of solar modules has passed the Salt Mist Corrosion Test, IEC61701:2011 Edition 2, Severity Level 6, administered by TÜV Rheinland in Tempe, Arizona, demonstrating that Kyocera’s modules maintain performance even under very severe environmental conditions. Successfully passing this independent, third-party test indicates that Kyocera’s solar modules, which are the product of more than 38 years of continuous research and development, are ideally suited for long-term deployment in marine and coastal areas.

Salt mist is a corrosive agent that can reduce the output of solar modules that are not proven salt-mist resistant. Salt-laden humidity and rain conditions can adversely affect key module components, including the frames, junction boxes and glass surfaces, thus potentially reducing a module’s performance and lifespan.

TÜV Rheinland performed the test to International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61701 standards, Edition 2, Level 6 -- the most severe testing conditions, involving eight weeks of intensive cyclical, sequential days of corrosive salt spray and damp storage, to simulate a harsh marine environment.

In 2011, Kyocera solar modules passed the rigorous Edition 1 Salt Mist Test of the Japanese Electrical Safety & Environment Technology Laboratories (JET). Kyocera modules are also certified PID (Potential Induced Degradation) resistant, exhibiting no performance degradation after high-voltage stress testing by the Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics. Kyocera solar modules were the first in the world to be certified by TÜV Rheinland’s Long-Term Sequential Test in 2010. In addition, Kyocera solar modules have shown to be the best long-term-performing modules in the systems that were installed and began operation in October 2008 at Desert Knowledge Australia Solar Centre (DKA), a government-funded public showcase of solar installations, demonstrating a range of solar power technologies from many of the world's leading manufacturers.*

“This ongoing battery of tests provides world-class evidence of the quality and reliability of Kyocera solar modules,” said Steve Hill, president of Kyocera Solar Inc. “Kyocera has proven time and again, both through independent testing and through solar modules actually performing in the field uninterruptedly for decades, that our modules are able to produce clean, renewable energy reliably, in even the harshest conditions.”

To learn more about Kyocera Solar Solutions for both residential and commercial projects in the U.S. and Mexico, please contact infosolar@kyocera.com or 800-223-9580.

*Desert Knowledge Australia, the Australian Government, the Northern Territory Government and the project managers, CAT Projects, do not endorse, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the outcomes and conclusions associated with the use of data from the Desert Knowledge Australia Solar Centre.

About KYOCERA
Kyocera is one of the world’s leading producers and suppliers of solar photovoltaic modules and systems. With a 38-year history of innovation in solar technology, the company is recognized as an industry pioneer and has set repeated world records in multicrystalline silicon cell efficiency. Kyocera serves thousands of residential and industrial customers in both developed and developing regions, with more than 4 gigawatts of solar collection equipment installed since 1975.
Kyocera Solar, Inc. is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona with regional sales affiliates in the Americas and Australia, and solar module manufacturing facilities operated in North America by Kyocera Mexicana, S.A. de C.V. of Tijuana, Mexico.

Kyocera Corporation (NYSE:KYO) (TOKYO:6971), the parent and global headquarters of the Kyocera Group, was founded in 1959 as a producer of fine (or “advanced”) ceramics. Kyocera specializes in combining these engineered materials with other technologies to create solar power generating systems, printers, copiers, mobile phones, electronic components, semiconductor packages, cutting tools and industrial components. During the year ended March 31, 2013, the company’s net sales totaled 1.28 trillion yen (approx. USD13.6 billion).