DuPont Releases 2019 Global PV Reliability Study

DuPont Photovoltaic and Advanced Materials (DuPont) has announced that it has issued its annual Global Field Reliability Study today, with results from their field inspection and analysis program that tracks material degradation and its effects on global solar module performance.

This program is one of the most thorough of its kind, guided by a multistep inspection protocol at sites in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East and staffed with some of the most experienced scientists in the solar industry. This team of experts has compiled global data from 6.5M modules, 355 Installations and 1.8GW of Total Power

Key Findings (Compared to Last Year):

• The number of site inspections in the report grew from 275 to 355.
• The number of panels surveyed increased from 4.2 million to over 6.5 million (1.04 GW to 1.8 GW).
• Overall module defect rates increased since 2018.
• Total module defects: 34 percent
• Total backsheet defects: 14 percent
• Backsheet defects increased 47 percent from 2018
• Cracking comprises 66 percent of all backsheet defects

“For nearly a decade, DuPont has collaborated with field partners, customers, downstream developers, universities, and national labs to perform these field inspections,” said Kaushik Roy Choudhury, Ph.D., Global Reliability Manager for DuPont. “Our mission is simple yet critical: to inspect, assess and understand the state of degradation of fielded photovoltaic (PV) modules so we can offer a current and reliable source to help buyers understand the breadth of component degradation issues and module failures that affect their return on investment,” Roy Choudhury added.

This 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.

“While our field analysis looks at all component materials, we focus special attention on backsheet durability, which plays a critical role in ensuring modules will last long enough to reach the financial objectives of their owners,” said Roy Choudhury.

The report lays out failures with PET, polyamide and PVDF backsheets and issues with glass on glass modules the team is witnessing. “This is the second year we’ve reported on Glass-Glass module failures, as our data continues to grow with modules that have been in the field over four years,” noted Roy Choudhury. “We highlight a specific field case in the report that looks at one field with multiple Bills of Materials (BOMs) and the issues the panels had with delamination and cracking of backsheets, and the associated replacement costs the owner faced.”