Pacific Islands Solar believes in using solar modules that exceed performance expectations other solar modules fail to achieve. Kyocera Solar Inc. announced that its solar modules installed on three individual sites in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains have demonstrated long-term reliability and longevity despite extreme circumstances including a racking failure, high irradiance, freezing temperatures and heavy snow for months each winter.
A recent test by a certified North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) PV installation professional indicates that 10-year-old Kyocera modules are performing at more than 95 percent of their original rating in spite of the extreme environment — at 8,500 feet above sea level, buried under snow and enduring solar irradiance levels of roughly twice those of laboratory test conditions.
At Colorado’s Big Mountain Ranch, despite mounting failures in which the post-piers migrated downhill creating severe torque and stress on the module frames, the Kyocera modules continued to perform well in the same 10-year period.
The results of the testing indicate that the modules are still producing above 95 percent of their originally rated short circuit current.
Additionally, a duo of other installations using Kyocera solar modules in Colorado have beenhard at work since 1991 and 1995, respectively, and both still power the loads for which they were designed.
Ben Dodge, executive director of the 10th Mountain Division Hut association said, “While the elevation of the huts puts them in an extreme environment and users are sometimes not as gentle or informed as they should be, the panels have withstood these challenges.”
These installations validate other globally recognized tests and quality certifications that demonstrate the world class reliability of Kyocera solar modules. Kyocera modules were the world’s first to be certified in the long-term sequential test performed by TUV Rheinland Japan.
With nearly 40 years in the solar industry, Kyocera has proven time and again that its modules are highly reliable even in the most extreme situations. Similar modules in Hawaii will be tested. Pacific Islands Construction believes the evaluations of solar modules need to consider the long term reliability not just the initial cost, the dubious warranties and marketing language used by many manufactures and salesmen alike.
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