Featured in Keeping your powder dry – 03-2016

Melting backsheets, broken cells, and hotspots

Black sheep part II: A case of compromised quality. A German operator claims nearly 17% of the modules in his array displayed significant damage after three years. The EPC company concealed the damage from the investor until the warranty had expired. The module manufacturer responded slowly and only out of goodwill. pv magazine investigates what can be done in part two of its ongoing Black Sheep campaign.

In September 2011, an EPC installed some 8,800 Chinese-manufactured PV panels in southern France. A mere three months later, more than 90% of the modules had snail trails. The investor informed the EPC of the problem. The EPC countered that the snail trails had no influence on the quality or yield of the modules. In …

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