Your daily dose of photovoltaic technology developments and solar news

• Popular Technical Papers

  • Overview of automation in the photovoltaic industry
  • Understanding moisture ingress and packaging requirements for photovoltaic modules
  • Evaluation of encapsulant materials for PV applications
  • Inline processing of crystalline silicon solar cells: the holy grail for large-scale manufacturing?
  • PV sector outlook: an analyst’s perspective

• Featured Technical Papers

  • Transparent conducting oxide deposition techniques for thin-film photovoltaics
  • Comprehensive and advanced quality assurance measures for optimal yields from PV power plants
  • Surface passivation of silicon solar cells using industrially relevant Al2O3 deposition techniques
  • Influence of a-Si:H deposition temperature on thermal stability of a-Si:H/SiNx:H stacks
  • Integrated loops: a prerequisite for sustainable and environmentally-friendly polysilicon production

Photovoltaic modules are designed to meet the reliability and safety requirements of national and international test standards. Qualification testing is a short-duration (typically, 60-90 days) accelerated testing protocol, and it may be considered as a minimum requirement to undertake reliability testing. The goal of qualification testing is to identify the initial short-term reliability issues in the field, while the qualification testing/certification is primarily driven by marketplace requirements. Safety testing, however, is a regulatory requirement where the modules are assessed for the prevention of electrical shock, fire hazards, and personal injury due to electrical, mechanical, and environmental stresses in the field. This paper examines recent reliability and safety studies conducted at TÜV Rheinland PTL’s solar module testing facility in Arizona.

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