Recording of Monday, June 22, 2026 | The smarter E Europe Conferences 2026 | Language: English | Duration: 7:10 .

Challenges and Insights in the Solar Module Industry

The solar module industry faces significant challenges despite its rapid growth, with 87% of manufacturers reporting product failures. Key issues include junction box problems, diode failures, and delamination, which affects 45% of manufacturers and poses fire hazards. Rigorous testing reveals that while 69% of modules show minimal degradation after 2,000 hours of high heat and humidity, many still fail, underscoring the complexity of reliability in solar technology. Hail damage is a major concern, often leading to breakage of the glass surface and detachment of components. To address these issues, manufacturers must adapt production processes, including standardizing laminator settings to enhance structural integrity. Performance assessments indicate that no single module design excels across all tests, highlighting the variability and need for further evaluation. The introduction of the annual PV Module Reliability Scorecard helps assess manufacturer performance, showcasing the top 43 manufacturers against established benchmarks, with new categories like UVID introduced to reflect advancements in technology.

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Speaker

Sishir Garemella
Head of International Business Development
Kiwa PVEL
USA

Talk of session: Solar Power Plants and Storage II: Ensuring Performance - Quality, Reliability and Bankability of Modules and BOS Components in a Competitive Environment

As technology advances rapidly and price pressure increases, ensuring performance throughout the asset's lifecycle is paramount, especially as storage gains importance in new solar plants. From factory audits to field inspections - tailored quality strategies are essential for reducing risk and making operation profitable. This session examines inspection frameworks, technology testing and advanced fault detection in order to enhance reliability and strengthen the bankability and profitability of PV-plus storage projects.

Key topics:

• Quality assurance and certification for modules, balance of systems and batteries
• Failure modes and degradation risks
• Impacts on yield and lifecycle costs
• Best practices to secure long-term reliability and bankability

Further Talks of this session:

A Decision Framework for Solar Asset Inspection From Factory to Field

Speaker

Jörg Althaus
Director QA and Engineering Services
Intertek CEA
Germany

To Talk

Advanced PV Fault Detection: Faster, Smarter, Cost-Efficient

Speaker

Magnus Herz
Senior Expert PV
TÜV Rheinland Energy GmbH

To Talk

Behind Warranty Claims: An Insurance Perspective on Product & Performance Warranties

Speaker

Julia Moser
Product Lead Photovoltaics
Munich RE
Germany

To Talk

The Solar Quality Standard

Speaker

Nikoletta Fodor
Project Officer
SolarPower Europe
Belgium

To Talk

Q&A

To Talk