27 January 2011

CdTe PV maker Abound receives MCS certification and enters UK market

Abound Solar of Loveland, CO, USA has received UK MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme) certification for its AB1-series of cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules. MCS certification enables PV systems using Abound modules to qualify for UK solar feed-in-tariffs.

The certification was awarded to Abound following a demanding assessment of its production process and materials as well as the rigor of quality controls over its manufacturing operations. Abound’s modules have already received certifications under Underwriters Laboratories 1703, TÜV (IEC 61646, IEC 61730, IEC 61215) and the California Energy Comission (CEC).

“Total installed solar power capacity is growing significantly in the UK,” says senior VP of sales & marketing Julian Hawkings. Abound says that it is expanding on new and existing relationships with system integrators and project developers in the region.

Since being founded in 2007, Abound has raised about $260m in venture capital and private equity, built its first production line in Longmont, CO and began full-scale commercial operations in November 2009. Since securing a $400m loan guarantee from the US Department of Energy (DOE) last December, it plans to expand capacity at both Longmont (where it has already begun construction of a second manufacturing line to boost its annual capacity to 200MW per year by the end of 2011) and at a second site to be constructed in Tipton, Indiana, boosting the firm’s total annual capacity by 640MW to more than 840MW.

See related items:

Abound closes $400m DOE loan guarantee and $110m equity investment

Tags: Abound Solar CdTe thin-film PV

Visit: www.abound.com