NREL to Host Ninth Annual PV Reliability Workshop

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Every spring since 2010, experts in photovoltaic (PV) components and modules have gathered in Colorado for NREL’s annual PV Reliability Workshop. The workshop’s goal is to share research leading to more durable and reliable PV modules, thus reducing the cost of solar electricity and strengthening investor confidence in the technology—both critical goals for moving PV technologies deeper into the electricity marketplace.

NREL will host the ninth annual PV Reliability Workshop from Feb. 27 to March 1 in Lakewood, Colorado. Sessions at the workshop will cover key topics in reliability, such as stability of high-efficiency modules, module soiling, inverter reliability, monitoring and failure detection, international standards, and accelerated testing of modules. The workshop will also feature updates from two major efforts focused on reliability: the Durable Module Materials Consortium—which brings together national laboratory, university, and industry stakeholders to discover, develop, and de-risk new materials and designs for PV modules—and the International PV Quality Assurance Task Force—which leads global efforts to craft quality and reliability standards for solar energy technologies.

PV Reliability Workshops are unique in the requirement that every organization share a presentation, ensuring that a wealth of knowledge is presented each year. The 2018 workshop is planned in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories and Brookhaven National Laboratory. Registration closes about one week before the workshop begins, though registration fees will increase in early February.