Suntech enters promising UK market armed with MCS certification

LONDON, UK & WUXI, CHINA: Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd, the world's largest producer of crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules, recently received official certification under the UK Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) for its most popular models, a pre-requisite for selling solar panels in the UK market.

The certification will enable customers and value-added resellers in the UK to utilize Suntech's solar panels for reliable electricity generation.

Issued by the leading UK test authority, the British Board of Agrement (BBA), the certification certifies that Suntech's modules meet or exceed relevant standards for sales in the UK. The MCS approval process includes a factory inspection, to ensure that all production processes conform or exceed safety and reliability standards, as well as thorough product performance evaluation.

Solar installers, such as The Green Electrician Ltd., are delighted to offer Suntech modules to their customers in the UK. Rupert Higgin, Director of The Green Electrician Ltd., has been impressed by the quality, excellent performance and reliability of Suntech modules installed in Germany.

Higgin commented: "I would not hesitate in recommending Suntech's high-performance solar products to our customers in the UK. Suntech has a strong presence throughout Europe and they provide great support and quick responses to all my questions." Since installing their first system in April, The Green Electrician has developed about a dozen new systems using Suntech modules within the last month.

The forecast for the UK solar market is bright, judging by the activities of UK installers, such as The Green Electrician, who report robust consumer demand. The superior performance of Suntech's industry-leading solar panels, under all light and weather conditions, makes solar a viable energy solution almost everywhere under the sun.

Coupled with strong government incentives to catalyze market growth, solar will provide an attractive return on investment to both commercial and private customers in the UK.

Jerry Stokes, Suntech's Vice President of Strategy and Business Development in Europe, added: "We see the UK as a strategically important market and had no hesitation in engaging BBA to assess our modules for the MCS certification. With a high degree of home ownership and a positive feed-in-tariff legislation, which offers secure returns, we are confident that the UK market offers great potential."

All of Suntech's products meet or exceed the most stringent international quality and safety standards. Launched in 2009, Suntech's advanced solar product testing facility is widely recognized as the best-in-class, as it has been awarded the Underwriters Laboratories Witness Testing Data Program Certificate as well as the VDE Test Data Acceptance Program Certificate in accordance with all requirements of IEC 61215 and IEC 61730.