Solar Industry

Worldwide growth of photovoltaics (PV) has been close to exponential since 1992. The cumulative installed PV capacity reached more than 600 GW in 2019, with global accumulated investment of more than $1.5 trillion. Analysts predict PV adoption will continue to grow, reaching more than 1TW by 2022.

Due to high initial capital investment, PV modules installed in the field must work reliably to ensure return on investment. Due to multitude of environmental stress in the field, it is unavoidable that some PV modules fail in the field.

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This figure shows failures of PV modules due to different defects

It is estimated that PV modules failure could potentially cost billions dollar worth of revenue loss. The defective modules must be promptly replaced to ensure maximum PV plants performance and maximize financial return.

Reference: 
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/737447