Canadian Solar Modules Pass Stringent Salt Corrosion Test

Published on Tuesday, 17 January 2012 06:18 Written by TradersHuddle Staff

ONTARIO, Canada, Jan. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", "we" or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar companies, today announced that its solar modules passed the most stringent salt spray corrosion test — IEC61701 Ed2 (salt mist corrosion testing) and IEC60068-2-52 Ed.2 (Severity 1, Environmental testing) standards adopted in 2011. Canadian Solar was granted certification by TUV NORD CERT GmbH, based in Germany. The certification covers 33 of the Company's products, with outputs ranging from 13W to 305W. These latest tests are in addition to the Ammonia Test, another voluntary test the Company's solar modules passed in March 2011.

Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar, said, "Despite the highly rigid standards, Canadian Solar submitted to the voluntary stringent salt spray test given our confidence in the quality, performance and durability of our solar modules. This latest certification further validates the premium quality of Canadian Solar's modules even under very adverse weather and environment conditions. This is a competitive differentiator, allowing Canadian Solar to install systems within seaside areas, providing a much needed solution customers in coastal regions, including Japan, Indonesia, and Thailand, among others.  We will continue to leverage our state-of-the-art PV testing lab as we work to safeguard the high-quality our solar modules have become known for worldwide over the past 10 years."

This Salt Mist Corrosion test is intended for application to components or equipment designed to withstand a salt-laden atmosphere. Salt can degrade the performance of parts manufactured using metallic and/or non-metallic materials. According to IEC60068-2-52: Severity 1 is intended to be used for testing products which are used in a marine environment, or in close proximity to the sea and exposed to the environment for much of their operational life (i.e., ship radar, deck equipment). Severity 1 is commonly used as a general corrosion test in component quality assurance procedures.

The Severity 1 corrosion test lasts 28 days with four testing cycles. During each cycle modules are sprayed for 2 hours with a 5% Sodium Chloride Solution. The modules are then stored for 7 days at 35 degrees Celsius and a humidity level of 85 percent. This procedure is repeated four times in each successive test cycle. The accelerated laboratory corrosion test simulates the effects of salt-laden atmospheres during the entire life of the solar modules.

About Canadian Solar  

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) is one of the world's largest solar companies. As a leading vertically integrated provider of ingots, wafers, solar cells, solar modules and other solar applications, Canadian Solar designs, manufactures and delivers solar products and solar system solutions for on-grid and off-grid use to customers worldwide. With operations in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, Canadian Solar provides premium quality, cost-effective and environmentally friendly solar solutions to support global, sustainable development. For more information, visit www.canadiansolar.com.

Safe Harbor/Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These statements are made under the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by such terms as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "estimates," the negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include the risks regarding the previously disclosed SEC investigation, as well as general business and economic conditions and the state of the solar industry; governmental support for the deployment of solar power; future available supplies of high-purity silicon; demand for end-use products by consumers and inventory levels of such products in the supply chain; changes in demand from significant customers; changes in demand from major markets such as Germany; changes in customer order patterns; changes in product mix; capacity utilization; level of competition; pricing pressure and declines in average selling prices; delays in new product introduction; continued success in technological innovations and delivery of products with the features customers demand; shortage in supply of materials or capacity requirements; availability of financing; exchange rate fluctuations; litigation and other risks as described in the Company's SEC filings, including its annual report on Form 20-F filed on May 17, 2011. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance, or achievements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All information provided in this press release is as of today's date, unless otherwise stated, and Canadian Solar undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.