Photovoltaic failure and degradation modes

Jordan, Dirk C.; Silverman, Timothy J.; Wohlgemuth, John H.; Kurtz, Sarah R.; VanSant, Kaitlyn T.

doi:10.1002/pip.2866

Title: Photovoltaic failure and degradation modes

Abstract

Abstract The extensive photovoltaic field reliability literature was analyzed and reviewed. Future work is prioritized based upon information assembled from recent installations, and inconsistencies in degradation mode identification are discussed to help guide future publication on this subject. Reported failure rates of photovoltaic modules fall mostly in the range of other consumer products; however, the long expected useful life of modules may not allow for direct comparison. In general, degradation percentages are reported to decrease appreciably in newer installations that are deployed after the year 2000. However, these trends may be convoluted with varying manufacturing and installation quality world‐wide. Modules in hot and humid climates show considerably higher degradation modes than those in desert and moderate climates, which warrants further investigation. Delamination and diode/j‐box issues are also more frequent in hot and humid climates than in other climates. The highest concerns of systems installed in the last 10 years appear to be hot spots followed by internal circuitry discoloration. Encapsulant discoloration was the most common degradation mode, particularly in older systems. In newer systems, encapsulant discoloration appears in hotter climates, but to a lesser degree. Thin‐film degradation modes are dominated by glass breakage and absorber corrosion, although the breadth of informationmore »« less

Authors:

^[1]; Silverman, Timothy J. ^[1]; Wohlgemuth, John H. ^[1]; Kurtz, Sarah R. ^[1]; VanSant, Kaitlyn T. ^[2]

National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)

Publication Date:: Mon Jan 30 00:00:00 EST 2017

Research Org.:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office

OSTI Identifier:: 1349023

Alternate Identifier(s):: OSTI ID: 1401511

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-5J00-67238
Journal ID: ISSN 1062-7995

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308; DE‐AC36‐08‐GO28308

Resource Type:: Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:: Progress in Photovoltaics

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 25; Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 1062-7995

Publisher:: Wiley

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 14 SOLAR ENERGY; 47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION; photovoltaic modules; reliability; durability; failure; failure rate; degradation modes

Citation Formats


                    Jordan, Dirk C., Silverman, Timothy J., Wohlgemuth, John H., Kurtz, Sarah R., and VanSant, Kaitlyn T. Photovoltaic failure and degradation modes.  United States: N. p., 2017. 
Web.  doi:10.1002/pip.2866.

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                    Jordan, Dirk C., Silverman, Timothy J., Wohlgemuth, John H., Kurtz, Sarah R., & VanSant, Kaitlyn T. Photovoltaic failure and degradation modes.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.2866

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                    Jordan, Dirk C., Silverman, Timothy J., Wohlgemuth, John H., Kurtz, Sarah R., and VanSant, Kaitlyn T. Mon .  
"Photovoltaic failure and degradation modes".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.2866.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1349023.

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@article{osti_1349023,

  title        = {Photovoltaic failure and degradation modes},

  author       = {Jordan, Dirk C. and Silverman, Timothy J. and Wohlgemuth, John H. and Kurtz, Sarah R. and VanSant, Kaitlyn T.},

  abstractNote = {Abstract The extensive photovoltaic field reliability literature was analyzed and reviewed. Future work is prioritized based upon information assembled from recent installations, and inconsistencies in degradation mode identification are discussed to help guide future publication on this subject. Reported failure rates of photovoltaic modules fall mostly in the range of other consumer products; however, the long expected useful life of modules may not allow for direct comparison. In general, degradation percentages are reported to decrease appreciably in newer installations that are deployed after the year 2000. However, these trends may be convoluted with varying manufacturing and installation quality world‐wide. Modules in hot and humid climates show considerably higher degradation modes than those in desert and moderate climates, which warrants further investigation. Delamination and diode/j‐box issues are also more frequent in hot and humid climates than in other climates. The highest concerns of systems installed in the last 10 years appear to be hot spots followed by internal circuitry discoloration. Encapsulant discoloration was the most common degradation mode, particularly in older systems. In newer systems, encapsulant discoloration appears in hotter climates, but to a lesser degree. Thin‐film degradation modes are dominated by glass breakage and absorber corrosion, although the breadth of information for thin‐film modules is much smaller than for x‐Si. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.},

  doi          = {10.1002/pip.2866},

  journal      = {Progress in Photovoltaics},

  number       = 4,

  volume       = 25,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Mon Jan 30 00:00:00 EST 2017},

  month        = {Mon Jan 30 00:00:00 EST 2017}

}

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Works referenced in this record:

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PV Degradation Curves: Non-Linearities and Failure Modes
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Jordan, D. C.; Silverman, T. J.; Sekulic, B.
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Works referencing / citing this record:

Challenges for commercializing perovskite solar cells
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Rong, Yaoguang; Hu, Yue; Mei, Anyi
Science, Vol. 361, Issue 6408
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Thermal Residual Stress Analysis of Soldering and Lamination Processes for Fabrication of Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Modules
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Global Climate Data Processing and Mapping of Degradation Mechanisms and Degradation Rates of PV Modules
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Ascencio-Vásquez, Julián; Kaaya, Ismail; Brecl, Kristijan
Energies, Vol. 12, Issue 24
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Annigoni, Eleonora; Virtuani, Alessandro; Levrat, Jacques
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Fluorescence imaging analysis of depth‐dependent degradation in photovoltaic laminates: insights to the failure
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Peled, Assaf; Appelbaum, Joseph
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Impact of Energy Losses Due to Failures on Photovoltaic Plant Energy Balance
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Annigoni, Eleonora; Virtuani, Alessandro; Caccivio, Mauro
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Experimental characterization of the performance of different photovoltaic technologies on water bodies
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Title: Photovoltaic failure and degradation modes

Abstract

Citation Formats

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Development of a Visual Inspection Data Collection Tool for Evaluation of Fielded PV Module Condition
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Investigation of Dominant Failure Mode(s) for Field-Aged Crystalline Silicon PV Modules Under Desert Climatic Conditions
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Degradation analysis of 1900 PV modules in a hot-dry climate: Results after 12 to 18 years of field exposure
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Defect and safety inspection of 6 PV technologies from 56,000 modules representing 257,000 modules in 4 climatic regions of the United States
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