Kyocera has announced that its entire product line of solar modules has passed the Salt Mist Corrosion Test, IEC61701:2011 Edition 2, Severity Level 6, administered by TUV Rheinland in Tempe, Arizona, demonstrating that Kyocera's modules maintain performance even under very severe environmental conditions.

Successfully passing this independent, third-party test indicates that Kyocera's solar modules, which are the product of more than 38 years of continuous research and development, are ideally suited for long-term deployment in marine and coastal areas.

Salt mist is a corrosive agent that can reduce the output of solar modules that are not proven salt-mist resistant. Salt-laden humidity and rain conditions can adversely affect key module components, including the frames, junction boxes and glass surfaces, thus potentially reducing a module's performance and lifespan.

TUV Rheinland performed the test to International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61701 standards, Edition 2, Level 6 -- the most severe testing conditions, involving eight weeks of intensive cyclical, sequential days of corrosive salt spray and damp storage, to simulate a harsh marine environment.

In 2011, Kyocera solar modules passed the rigorous Edition 1 Salt Mist Test of the Japanese Electrical Safety and Environment Technology Laboratories (JET). Kyocera modules are also certified PID (Potential Induced Degradation) resistant, exhibiting no performance degradation after high-voltage stress testing by the Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics.

Kyocera solar modules were the first in the world to be certified by TUV Rheinland's Long-Term Sequential Test in 2010. In addition, Kyocera solar modules have shown to be the best long-term-performing modules in the systems that were installed and began operation in October 2008 at Desert Knowledge Australia Solar Centre (DKA), a government-funded public showcase of solar installations, demonstrating a range of solar power technologies from many of the world's leading manufacturers.

"This ongoing battery of tests provides world-class evidence of the quality and reliability of Kyocera solar modules," said Steve Hill, president of Kyocera Solar Inc.

"Kyocera has proven time and again, both through independent testing and through solar modules actually performing in the field uninterruptedly for decades, that our modules are able to produce clean, renewable energy reliably, in even the harshest conditions."