PV Module Reliability Workshop

Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Chair: Michael Kempe

The 2015 PV Module Reliability Workshop (PVMRW) continued in the tradition of this annual event. Participation required sharing of a paper—either an oral or poster presentation—by each company at some time during the week. Targeted topics included potential induced degradation, observations from the field, etc. There was a general session, break-out sessions by technology area, and a poster session.

Agenda

For a detailed schedule of the day, access the agenda. This event was part of the 2015 Photovoltaic Module Reliability Workshop, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office.

Presentations

The presentations listed are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Discussion notes for the plenary session are also available.

• SunShot Initiative: Lower Cost via Proven PV Module Reliability—Geoffrey Kinsey, Department of Energy
• The Impact of Reliability on Bankability—David Williams, Dissigno
• Pitfalls of Accelerated Testing—William Meeker, Iowa State University
• Impact and Consequences of Soiling and Cleaning PV Modules—Thomas Weber, PI Berlin
• Review of Observed Degradation Modes and Mechanisms from Fielded Modules—Timothy Silverman, NREL

Adhesion Measurement and Evaluation

Discussion notes for the Adhesion Measurement and Evaluation session are also available.

• A Fracture Mechanics-Based Approach to Adhesion Testing in the PV Module—Nick Bosco, NREL
• Adhesion Testing Issues and Interpretation—Scott Meyer, 3M

CPV

Discussion notes for the CPV session are also available.

• Performance and Reliability Evaluation of CPV Systems—Govindasamy Tamizhmani, Arizona State University
• Prototyping and Validation of Two Low-Cost Inline CPV Module Efficiency Characterization Methods—Michael Sinclair, Morgan Solar
• Summary of Semprius' Approach to Flash Testing—Steven Seel, Semprius

X-Silicon

Discussion notes for the X-Silicon session are also available.

• Overview of IEC Testing for PID—Peter Hacke, NREL
• A PID Model: Ensuring 25 Years of Service Life—Max Koentopp, Q-Cells
• Influence of the PV Backsheet on the Formation of Snail Trails—Cordula Schmid, Fraunhofer

Thin Films

Discussion notes for the Thin Film session are also available.

• Accelerated Degradation by Light Illumination or Current Injection During Heat Tests on Flexible Thin Film Modules—Keiichiro Sakurai, AIST
• Lab to Field Predictability of First Solar CdTe Production Modules—Allan Ward, First Solar
• Transient Behavior in Thin Film Modules—Michael Deceglie, NREL
• Reliability Testing of Monolithic CIGSS in a Glass-Glass Package—Richard Wickham, Stion

Comparing Field and Lab Data

Discussion notes for the Comparing Field and Lab Data session are also available.

• PVQAT Task Group 5: UV Weathering Round Robin—David Miller, NREL
• Lessons Learned from Other Industries: A Consortium of Automotive Stakeholders' Approaches in the Development of a Science-Based Accelerated Weathering Test Standard—Al Zielnik, Atlas Materials Testing
• Service Lifetime Prediction: Why Is It So Hard?—James Pickett, formerly of GE Plastics

Posters

The posters listed are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs.

• Initial analysis of 22-year old PV system in Quebec, Canada—Alex Bradley, Tanya Dhir, Yves Poissant
• Solar panel design factors to reduce the impact of cracked cells and the tendency for crack propagation—Andrew M. Gabor, Rob Janoch, Andrew Anselmo and Halden Field
• Development of Qualification Tests for Glass-Less c-Si Modules—Cordula Schmid, Rubina Singh, Philipp Zimmermann, Jacqueline Ashmore
• Requirements on accelerated testing to ensure 25 years without moisture ingression problems in the toughest climates—David Näsvall
• Degradation Analysis of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) via Fluorescence Spectroscopy—Devin A. Gordon, Abdulkerim Gok, Cara Fagerholm, David M. Burns, Timothy J. Peshek, Laura S. Bruckman, Roger H. French
• Backsheet reliability of modules for greenhouse application—I.E. Anderson, M. Osborne, G. Alers
• PV Module Hotspot Detection—J. Gallon, G. S. Horner, J. E. Hudson, L.A. Vasilyev
• Maximizing Reliability Performance with Polyolefin Encapsulants—John Naumovitz, Kumar Nanjundiah, Lisa Madenjian
• Emerging Reliability Issues for Photovoltaic (PV) Modules: Surface Conditions and Fundamental Photon Coupling—L.L. Kazmerski, Antonia Sonia A.C. Diniz, Cristiana M. Brasil, Lauro V. Machado Neto, Marcelo Machado, Leila de Oliveira Cruz, G. TamizhMani
• Water Cooking for Backsheet and PV Module Endurance Evaluation—MaoYi Chang, Haomin Chen, Chienyu Chen, C. H. Hsueh, W. J. Hsieh
• Accurately Measuring PV Power Loss Due to Soiling—Michael Gostein and Bill Stueve
• 600 Hour Potential Induced Degradation Testing on Silicon, CIGS and HIT Modules—Nicholas Riedel, Larry Pratt, Erica Moss, and Michael Yamasaki
• Defects during the synthesis of a one-step electrodeposited CuIn_xGa_xSe₂/Mo/glass films at atmospheric conditions—O. Bamiduro, R. Konda
• Sorting test of bending load on the interconnector in crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules—Soh Suzuki, Tadanori Tanahashi, Takuya Doi and Atsushi Masuda
• In-situ AC impedance measurement in c-Si PV modules during rapid thermal cycling test—Tadanori Tanahashi, Soh Suzuki, Norihiko Sakamoto, Akihiro Mito, Katsuhiko Shirasawa and Hidetaka Takato
• Tj measurement of bypass diode for PV modules—Yasunori Uchida
• Effects of water spray on specimen temperature exposed during proposed xenon arc and fluorescent UV lamp weathering test cycles for backsheet materials—Sean Fowler
• Robustness of SunPower Cells to Wind Stress via High-Cycle Vibration Testing—John Lippiatt
• Utilization of Ultra-Intense UV Weathering Chambers for Rapid Acceleration of PV Component Testing—Tatsuo Nakamura
• Long-term soiling in a moderate subtropical climate—Tony Sample
• Characterization of Fire Hazards of Aged Photovoltaic Balance-of-System Connectors—Eric Schindelholz
• Modeling of PV Modules Using Computational Simulation—Davis Hemenway, Hiroshi Sakurai, Walajabad Sampath, and Kurt Barth Thermal
• PV Soiling Rate Variation over Long Periods in Desert Environment—Benjamin Figgis, D. Martinez, T. Mirza
• Worst-case partial shading conditions for crystalline silicon solar cells with different reverse-current characteristics—Dr. Lars Podlowski, Bernd Litzenburger, Stefan Janke, Daniel Cormode, Stefan Wendland
• Performance analysis of c-Si module deployed at FSEC after 10 years exposure—Eric Schneller, Joe Walters, Stephen Barkaszi
• Tracking PV Changes: Bridging Between Thin-Film Cells and Modules—Russell Geisthardt, John Raguse, Andrew Moore, and James Sites
• Role of EVA-based encapsulants on Potential Induced Degradation of Crystalline Silicon PV Modules—Jayesh G. Bokria, Sean A. Ferrigan, Kyle B. Smith, and Luke A. Strzegowski
• Increased Hydrolytic Stability of Neutral Cure Silicone Adhesives Improves Long-term Module Reliability—Jeff Thompson, Yoshiaki Takezawa, Clarissa Miller
• Accelerated Aging of CdTe Microcells Using Conductive Probe Atomic Force Microscopy—Justin Luria, Yasemin Kutes, Bryan Huey
• Pitfalls of Energy Yield Prediction Models Based on Time 0 and STC Module Characterization—M. Propst, N.A. Olsson
• Stability of encapsulants using various string-ribbons—Masahiro Iwata, Keisuke Ogawa, Hiroshi Kanno, Hiroshi Inoue, Mikio Taguchi and Shingo Okamoto
• Backsheet Weathering Study Comparing Light Sources, Irradiance and Temperature Levels—Nancy Phillips
• Thermal Resistance Measurement of Bypass Diode / Junction Box—Narendra Shiradkar, Vivek Gade
• Edge Seal Testing Update—Lori Postak and Mike Kempe
• Outdoor Performance of CIGS Modules in Different Climates—Kristopher Toivola, Paul F. Robusto, Bill Kessler
• Encapsulant effect on PID durability of various crystalline PV cells—Rie Tanaka and Hirofumi Zenkoh
• PV Module and Device Reliability: An Overview of Current Status and Potential Gaps—Shubhra Bansal, Rebecca Jones-Albertus
• Photoluminescence and Electroluminescence Outdoor Module Imaging—Steve Johnston and Tim Silverman
• Effect of process fabrication and annealing conditions on stabilization pre-conditioning of CIGS modules—V. Bermudez
• PV Module Reliability Studies in the Tropics and Beyond—Yan Wang, Yong Sheng Khoo, Thomas Reindl
• Influences of lamination quality on durability of PV modules under damp-heat exposure—Zhu, D. Wu, D. Montiel-Chicharro, M. Owen-Bellini, T.R. Betts, and R. Gottschalg
• Reliability Test and Analysis of Silicone Sealant Used for Sealing and Bonding on PV Modules—Haichuan Zhao, Yinbai Li, and Matt Perry
• Processing and Device Oriented Approach to CIGS Module Reliability—Kannan Ramanathan and Rebekah Garris