Silicon Valley Leadership Group and Underwriters Laboratories Sign Letter of Intent Towards Solar Partnership/Laboratory

The Silicon Valley Leadership Group and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) today announced the signing of a Letter of Intent to collaborate on SolarTech initiative plans that include establishing a state-of-the-art photovoltaic testing and certification laboratory to meet the increasing needs and accelerated growth of the solar industry.

The collaborative agreement is a major achievement for Silicon Valley and the result of a dedicated team from the Leadership Group and SolarTech, assembled to help facilitate the development of a solar-specific UL testing facility in the Silicon Valley region. The solar laboratory will be wholly owned and operated by UL and the first of its kind for the 114-year-old company.

“This is a shining moment for SolarTech and our goal to turn Silicon Valley into Solar Valley,” said Carl Guardino, CEO of the Leadership Group, a public policy association of 250 companies that launched SolarTech earlier this year to collaborate with industry, government and the education/workforce sector on making solar power competitive economically.

The new lab represents a multi-million dollar investment towards increased renewable energy testing by UL. It will enhance testing capacity and shorten certification times for photovoltaic (PV) modules – two critical steps in getting solar end-products to the global market.

SolarTech’s mission is the removal of barriers to broad adoption of solar power through the development of the following best practices: installation and performance standards, utility interconnections, rebate processing, building permits, education and workforce training and financing.

Bill Colavecchio, Vice-President and General Manager of UL’s Global Industrial Products Sector said, “We recognize that Renewable Energy is an important growth area and fully intend to provide global market access services that complement our core expertise in safety testing and certification. The UL lab will offer a full portfolio of pre-certification services, including R&D, training and consulting.”

Silicon Valley is home to a growing community of solar energy start-ups and existing companies that are bringing new technologies into mainstream production, including thin-film PV, concentrated solar power and other cell technologies.

“This collaborative agreement with UL opens the pipeline for new technologies in Silicon Valley and will foster innovation, create jobs and grow the industry,” said Tom McCalmont, chair of SolarTech and CEO of REgrid Power.