A recent report based on a survey by DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions has found that the overall rate of module defects globally has increased by 34% in 2018.
DuPont surveyed sites in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The team compiled global data from 6.5 million modules, 355 installations, and 1.8 GW of installed solar photovoltaic capacity.
According to DuPont, while there were no defects in the majority of module materials, the following defects were observed:
- Cell/Interconnect – corrosion, hot spot, snail trails, broken interconnect, cracks, burn marks
- Backsheet – outer-layer (airside) and inner-layer (cell side) cracking, delamination, yellowing
- Encapsulant – discoloration, browning, delamination
- Other – glass defects, loss of AR coating, junction box
With 1.8 GW of projects inspected, here’s what they found:
- total module defects were 34%,
- total backsheet defects were 14%,
- backsheet defects increased 47% from 2018
- cracking comprises 66% of all backsheet defects.
This report could be a matter of concern for some solar developers in India who are already compromising on quality standards by procuring cheap products while the solar tariffs keep plummeting.
The DuPont 2019 report was assembled from inspection and analysis by DuPont teams using a variety of criteria including component, material, mounting, time in service, and climate.
Reference- DuPont Report, Mercom India