Suntech's modules receive the certificate of the enhanced hail test.

Today, Suntech announced that its modules received the VDE certification of the enhanced hail test, demonstrating the high quality and durability of Suntech's modules in extreme weather conditions, testing higher than other modules in the industry. In 2014, Suntech's modules received the VDE Quality-Tested certification, placing them as one of three brands globally to receive this quality ranking.

"The cells of PV modules will have micro-cracks if used in areas that experience frequent hail storms, which is detrimental to module performance and long-term reliability," said Xiong Haibo, CEO of Suntech. "The ranking highlights that our modules exceed market requirements and demonstrates that Suntech follows the market demand. The certification also indicates that Suntech modules can maintain excellent performance, high-quality and safety standards even in extreme weather conditions. We hope to use this recent certification to lay the foundation for Suntech's entry into markets that face unfavorable weather conditions yet are eager to adopt solar solutions."

Established in 1920, the VDE Institute is one of the world's leading testing and certification institutions. It is well-known globally as an international accredited institution for testing various electro technical equipment and appliances. The VDE's standards exceed existing industry quality requirements.

"At present, most manufacturers have passed the hail test based on the standard IEC61215, which uses hail of 25mm in diameter to hit the surface of modules, producing about 1.99J of energy during the test. Yet, the VDE test uses hail of 40mm in diameter, the 4th level of hail test in accordance with Swiss standards, which uses hail at a speed of 27.5m/s to hit the modules, producing energy no less than 11.1J, which simulates extreme environmental conditions," said Dr. Han Qiang, VDE's General Manager in Shanghai. "The results revealed that Suntech's modules have nearly no power loss and completely meet the enhanced standard requirements, indicating that they have an excellent ability to withstand hail impact performance even in extreme weather circumstances."

For more information on Suntech's products, please visit: http://www.suntech-power.com/menu/suntech-products.html

About Suntech Power Co., Ltd.

Suntech Power Co., Ltd., a company incorporated in the PRC in January 2001, produces industry-leading solar products for residential, commercial, industrial, and utility applications. Suntech has delivered more than 30 million photovoltaic panels or 8 GWs of installed capacity to more than 1 thousand customers in more than 80 countries. Suntech's pioneering R&D creates customer-centric innovations that are driving solar to grid parity against fossil fuels. Suntech's mission is to provide reliable access to nature's cleanest and most abundant energy source. The company currently has a designed production capacity of 1.6GW for solar cells and two production lines with an aggregate annual designed production capacity of 2.4GW for solar modules.

About VDE

Based in Germany, VDE is the Association for Electric, Electronic & Information Technologies and is one of the largest technical and scientific associations in Europe with more than 34,000 members. The VDE Institute is a nationally and internationally accredited institution, which tests various electrotechnical equipment, appliances, components and systems to protect the consumer and the general public against unsafe products and to support manufacturers and retailers in improving standards in the market with safe and high quality products.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150402/196249

SOURCE Wuxi Suntech Power Co., Ltd.