Featured in The hunt for high efficiency – 06-2025

Pain in the glass

Solar modules are getting bigger, thinner, and more powerful. But from Texas to Thailand, the same problem is appearing: broken glass. These breakages are not caused by hail, dropped tools or obvious mishandling. Instead, cracks spider out from frame edges, splinter near clamps and web across modules. In cases seen by Jörg Althaus, director of engineering and quality assurance services at Clean Energy Associates (CEA), it starts with a few panels – then dozens, hundreds, even thousands.

By

pv magazine

11 Jun 2025

Image: Kalhh

Clean Energy Associates has investigated glass breakages at utility-scale solar sites across three continents. It has found that there isn’t a single root cause, but a perfect storm: thinner glass combined with design shortcuts, evolving materials, and field realities that stress modules beyond what was simulated in the lab.For years, the industry relied on single-glass …

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