Assisting non-European PV product access to European market and subsidies - Intertek strengthens partnership with Photovoltaic Institute Berlin

Stuttgart, Germany/Shanghai, China (ots) - Intertek, a leading
provider of quality and safety solutions serving a range of
industries worldwide, today announced a new partnership with
Photovoltaic Institute Berlin (PI Berlin), a leading European player
in the Renewable Energies market segment. Photovoltaic Institute
Berlin will partner with Intertek to provide non-European PV modules
with smooth market access to Europe through Intertek's CB certificate
and PI Berlin's bankability test.

Companies that wish to sell PV modules in Europe need to have
those products declared as conforming to relevant standards. In
addition, companies that wish to achieve subsidies from banks and
governments need to establish their 'bankability'. The joint-service
will enable offshore companies to gain local-market certification and
bankability assessment together. It will make their entry into the
European market smoother and more efficient and at the same time
commence the subsidies process without compromising the test lead
time. PI Berlin provides bankability assessments for European and
non-European renewable product companies, which assessments are
recognized and utilized by banks and subsidizing organizations across
Europe. This covers the most important facts for the bankability of
non-European PV modules - means fundamental technical milestones for
a safe and fast market entry of the PV components to the European
markets, e.g. sustainability, over-all quality, stability and
efficiency of modules and components.

Intertek offers fast, expert testing and certification for AC
Modules, Photovoltaic (PV) Modules, Charge Controllers, PV Power
Units, Inverters, Converters, Accessories and Components around the
world. And its state-of-the-art Photovoltaic (PV) testing and
certification centers in Asia and the Americas enable module
manufacturers to meet growing demand, get products to market faster,
and provide critical performance data to support competitive
differentiation. Intertek is accredited by Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) as a Nationally Recognized Laboratory
(NRTL).

PI Berlin is an official IEC/ISO 17025 testing laboratory for the
PV industry and is accredited as CBTL for IEC/EN/ISO 61215, 61646,
61730 and all related standards as well as for CEC regulations and
UL1703.

"To enhance the existing strategic partnership and good relation
with PI Berlin, we suppose to utilize Intertek's PV module CB test
labs in PV modules manufacturing site, e.g. China, the U.S. etc and
PI Berlin's trusted expertise to facilitate good quality PV modules
to be installed in Germany and Europe," said Joachim Ihrke, Director
Commercial & Electrical Germany, France and Italy at Intertek.

Intertek and its partners will be present at Intersolar, the
world's largest solar technology trade fair, held in Munich
(Germany), June 8-10, 2011.

Intertek: hall A3 / booth 114
PI Berlin: hall B6 / booth 177

About Intertek

www.intertek.com

About PI Berlin

www.pi-berlin.com

For further information, please contact

Rhett Wang, Energy & Environment Business Regional Director, Intertek
Telephone: +8621 6127 8288
rhett.wang@intertek.com

Martin Winterling, Business Development Safety, Intertek Commercial &
Electrical Germany
Telephone: +49 611 97385-31
martin.winterling@intertek.com