Regional Test Centers
Four regional test centers, established by the Department of Energy, are located in New Mexico, Colorado, Florida, and Nevada to demonstrate the bankability of new photovoltaic (PV) technologies.
The regional test centers validate PV technologies in a range of climates. Pictured here is the New Mexico Regional Test Center for testing in a hot, dry climate.
The regional test centers validate new solar technologies and systems configurations, demonstrating performance and reliability under field conditions over time. Managed by Sandia National Laboratories and NREL, the regional test centers demonstrate how a technology performs in a particular climate by:
- Verifying that output power can be predicted accurately
- Quantifying system performance stability
- Identifying climate-specific performance and reliability factors.
In turn, the performance analysis provided by the national laboratories supports the bankability of emerging technologies, thus helping draw the investment dollars needed to bring innovation to the marketplace.
Read a basic description of each regional test center:
A related research activity hosted at the regional test center sites is the PV Lifetime Project. This R&D project investigates the degradation rates of common PV module types.
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