Product testing and certification firm Underwriters Laboratories (UL) on Monday announced its new Bangalore facility to test and certify photovoltaic equipment.

UL has invested around Rs 18 crore ($4 million) in its fifth global PV facility. Domestic PV equipment manufacturers can now get national and international certifications such as UL, IEC, EN in India and save costs and time to market, a release said.

The facility can handle 48 categories of PV modules in a year and assess product development, quality control and performance assessment for PV power plants.

Mr R.A. Venkitachalam, Managing Director and Vice-President, UL Emerging Markets, said the growing demand for PV equipment was driven by Government and industries seeking to develop sustainable energy sources.

“Globally the demand for PV systems has significantly increased and will continue to grow as a sustainable energy source. With the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission setting forth aggressive goals for deployment of solar power in India, there is a strong need in the Indian industry to have a full-fledged test facility for PV modules and systems,” UL said.

According to Mr Jeffrey A. Smidt, Vice-President and GM, Global Energy, India was one of the most important emerging PV markets and the company was installing a large-scale network of PV test facilities in key markets.

UL has its other testing facilities in Ise City, Japan; San Jose in California; Suzhou in China and Zeppelinheim in Germany.

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