Quality

Scientists in the UK investigated the relationship between two of the most worrisome defects that can affect solar cells in the field – cracking and hotspots. Their work analyzed solar cells with different levels of cracking under varying light conditions, finding that the most severely cracked cells were considerably more likely to run at high temperatures and form damaging hotspots.

The move will encourage private sector renewables companies to be part of the national energy industry, a representative of the regulator told a recent webinar which considered how to accelerate clean energy roll-out in Africa.

A consultation process examining whether legislation is required to ensure the eco credentials of panels and inverters is focusing on eco-design and energy labeling but has also made mention of the need for less carbon intensive manufacturing.

With projects in many PV markets aging past the 10-year mark – with major leaps in technology having occurred in that time – revamping is a popular topic among asset owners. pv magazine spoke with Asier Ukar, general manager of the Spanish subsidiary of German engineering company PI Berlin, to uncover the benefits of revamping PV projects with new components and also to examine the challenges and risks involved.

Welcome to the first day of the pv magazine Roundtable Europe event! We have a packed two-day schedule planned for you comprising four cornerstone issues that will define the industry as it cements itself as a key pillar of the continent’s energy transition: Quality, Asset Management, Sustainability and Made in Europe, and the Innovation Hub: Hydrogen, battery storage, and e-mobility.

Backsheet failures have plagued the industry, causing hefty financial burdens to many asset owners. DuPont has launched a product it says allows for easy repair of modules.

Last week, testing specialists PV Evolution Labs launched its latest Module Reliability Scorecard, which names more than 100 products from 26 manufacturers as top performers, after being put through their paces in extensive lab testing. This year’s scorecard reveals an increase in modules seeing at least one failure during the testing procedure, with newly added mechanical stress procedures causing the greatest number of failures.

How do you know when an inverter or module is under-performing? Monitoring services should shed light on problems but AI-driven digital asset manager Raycatch says much information is hidden behind a wall of “noise.” Breaking that wall with advanced data analysis could unlock billions of cost savings.

A new report published by the International Energy Agency’s Photovoltaic Power Systems Program (IEA PVPS) outlines the need for PV module standards and testing to focus on ‘energy rating’ – an estimate of actual performance in a variety of climate conditions, rather than nominal power output or efficiency. The report finds that the IEC and other standards bodies are already beginning to make encouraging moves in this direction, but more work, and more data, are needed to make the most out of this approach.

The third annual scorecard published by the consultant has tested 22 batteries with different chemistries for cycling stability and temperature-dependent behaviour and identified significant product trends.