GoPV-SummerSchool Session2 EPFL 1

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020
research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 792059
Jun. 21st
Solar PV Modules
Testing, reliability, lifetime
Alejandro Borja Block - EPFL
co-organized with
(14:00-15:00)
SOLAR PV MODULES: Testing, reliability, lifetime
Outline
1. Introduction
2. Factors impacting module reliability over lifetime
3. Quality in manufacturing
4. Accelerated-aging testing
5. Do PV modules make it to 35 years?
GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

PV SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGIES AND DESIGN
Outline
1. Introduction

Reliability Engineering: Definitions
Durability Reliability
Lifetime
Perform as
- User Perform as
required, under
required,
Failure
Brand new PV given requirements
are not longer without failure, Loss of ability to
module conditions of
met for a given time perform as
use and
interval, under required
maintenance, - 80% of initial given
until the end of power for PV conditions
lifetime
Warranty: is a written promise by a company that, if you find a fault in something they have sold you within
a certain time, they will repair it or replace it free of charge.
PV modules’s typical warranty: 25 yrs with 80% of initial performance.

4
Operation of PV modules
Temperature
Electrical Stress heat, frost, night-day cycles Irradiance
High voltages, shadows light, UV
Mechanical Stress Atmosphere Moisture

wind, snow, hail salt mist, dust, sand, pollution rain, dew, frost

5
Testing and certifications
Why do we need them?

• Give certainty to manufacturers and
customers that the PV modules will
perform as required
• Improve module design
• Investigate new technologies and
materials

6
Outline
1. Introduction

Factors impacting PV module reliability over lifetime
Components Modules Installation Operation
• R&D • R&D • Transport • Climate

• Process • Component • Handling • Micro-
parameters selection • Mounting climate
• Process • Processing • O&M
stability parameters
• Quality and stability
inspection • Quality
inspection

8

• Process • Processing • Operation
stability parameters • Maintenance
inspection

9
Components/material interactions
Components
Modules

10

inspection

11
Factors impacting PV module reliability
Installation
• Transport
• Handling
• Mounting

12
Handling
Installation
• Transport
• Handling
• Mounting
Virtuani & Agostinelli, EUPVSEC Brussels 2018 GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL
13

inspection

14
Degradation modes in c-Si PV Modules [1]
Operation
• Climate
• Micro-
climate
• Operation
• Maintenance

15
Overview of module degradation modes

16
Outline
1. Introduction

Quality of PV modules in manufacturing
Good materials selections, optimal design and manufacturing quality are

needed to ensure long-term module performance and reliability .
How do we ensure quality in manufacturing?
 An effective Quality Management System (QMS) is required.

18
Quality Management System (QMS)
An effective QMS in manufacturing should manage properly:
Materials/components
Product qualification
Product specification 1) Design (IEC 61215 & 61730)
Warranties and returns In-line

testing
QMS
3) Post- 2) Manufacturing
Non conforming production Final
products handling inspections
19
Testing in the production line
Visual Inspection Electroluminescence
I-V Electrical stress

20
Visual Method:
Inspection • Operator  Camera and software
• Good illumination
Common defects:
• Bubbles
• Metallic ribbon shift
• Solar cell misalignment
• Dirtiness

21
Method:
EL • Current injection
• Darkness
• IR camera (900nm-1100nm)
Results:
Pre and post • Bright area: photovoltaic
lamination active
• Dark area: defects,
shadows
Common defects:
• Cracks
• Solar cell degradation
(PID, DH, etc…)
https://russia.kyocera.com/products/solar_electric_systems/service/test_methods/ 22
IV
Ideal solar cell:

• Series resistance (Rs) → 0
• Shunt resistance (Rsh) → ∞
https://www.pveducation.org/pvcdrom/solar-cell-operation/series-resistance GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

https://www.pveducation.org/pvcdrom/solar-cell-operation/shunt-resistance PV SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGIES AND DESIGN
23
IV
https://www.nmtronics.com/solar/hspv.html Solar simulator:

• Connect J-box
• 1000 W/𝑚𝑚2
• A few seconds
• Classify modules according to power GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL
generation PV SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGIES AND DESIGN
24
HIPOT /WET LEAKAGE TEST  insulation of
Electrical internal electrical circuit
stress HIPOT
• Done for every module (dry)
WET LEAKAGE TEST

• Some modules
• Module covered with water
• Max. system voltage x2 applied to cells
• Isolation resistance times module area ≥
Source : Dongguan Hong, TU instrument Ltd 40 MΩ/m2

25
Factory inspections & audits PIB – White paper: results of 250+ factory audits
(120+ manufacturers)
Larger capacity can be leveraged to obtain better

PV module quality, in general, has been products at a lower cost and ensure more consistent
improving over the past years. manufacturing quality with higher
levels of automation. GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL
26
Detection methods in the field
Typical inspection methods for failure analysis and quality assurance
Visual inspection (VI)
Array I-V curve

measurement
Infrared (IR)
analysis
Electroluminescence
(EL) analysis

27
Detection methods in the field: Visual inspection
Delamination effects Discolouration effects Backsheet failure

Ulrike Jahn, Failure Detection in the Field, 2019 PV SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGIES AND DESIGN
28
Detection methods in the field: IV
• Electrical
performance
Insights into metastability of photovoltaic materials at the mesoscale through massive I–V analytics, 2016. GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL
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Detection methods in the field: IR
• Localization of array interconnection failures

• Localization of failures causing heat
generation
Electrical mismatch of cells Cell cracks/burn marks Active bypass diode

30
Detection methods in the field: EL
• Localization of cracked
cells and interconnects
• Potential induced
degradation

31
Outline
1. Introduction

Accelerated-aging (or qualification) testing
We cannot wait 35+ years for a product feedback !
 The industry makes use of

accelerated-aging testing.
Industry standards to qualify PV modules:

• IEC 61215 (performance)
• IEC 61730 (safety standards)
IEC 61215/61730
 Increased product quality
But…
Old/simplified testing sequence GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL
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Limits of existing qualification standards
Main limits in IEC 61215/61730 are:
• Evidence that products qualified according to this standard fail later in the field exist
E.g. modules made with Polyamide backsheets
minimum level of quality is not a guarantee for durability !
Virtuani & Agostinelli,
EUPVSEC Brussels 2018
• It is not a lifetime standard (no info about lifetime)
• It is explicitly refering to temperate climates:

 What about more challenging climates?

34
Accelerated-aging (or qualification) testing
Thermal Cycling
(TC)
Humidity-Freeze
Climatic (HF)
Damp-Heat
(DH)
Accelerated- Mechanical
Ultraviolet (UV)
aging tests Load (ML)
Mechanical
Hail impact (H)
Dry insulation
Electrical Wet leackage

35
Climatic: Thermal cycling
Test conditions
• 50/200 cycles
• -40°C to 85°C
Failure modes
• Broken interconnect
• Broken cell
• Solder bond failures
• Junction box adhesion
• Module connection open circuits
• Open circuits leading to arcing

36
Climatic: Humidity freeze
Test conditions
• 10 cycles
• -40°C to 85°C
Failure modes
• Delamination of encapsulant

37
Climatic: Damp Heat
Test conditions
• 1000h
• 85%RH, 85°C
Failure modes
• Corrosion
• Encapsulant loss of adhesion and
elasticity

38
Climatic: UV
Test conditions
• 15 kWh/m2 (61215)
• 2x60 kWh/m2 (61730)
Failure modes
• Encapsulant loss of adhesion and
elasticity
• Encapsulant discoloration
• Ground fault due to backsheet
degradation

39
Mechanical: Load
Test conditions
• 3 cycles
• +/- 2.4 MPa
Failure modes
• Glass and cell brakeage
• Loss of electrical continuity
• Solder joint failures
• Frame deformation

40
Mechanical: Hail test
Test conditions Initial After hail test

• Hail-stone:(∅: ≥25 mm)
• Velocity: ≥23 m/s;
Failure modes
• Glass and cell breakage

41
Electrical: dry and wet
HIPOT /WET LEAKAGE TEST  insulation of
Already mentioned internal electrical circuit
HIPOT
• Done for every module (dry)
WET LEAKAGE TEST

• Some modules
• Module covered with water
• Max. system voltage x2 applied to cells
• Isolation resistance times module area ≥
Source : Dongguan Hong, TU instrument Ltd 40 MΩ/m2

42
Extended testing (1)
Module manufacturers compliment the basic IEC 61215/61730 qualification testing with additional
testing sequences. E.g.
• IEC 61701 [30] for salt-mist corrosion testing (maritime

environment)
• IEC 62716 [31] for ammonia-corrosion testing (rural or farm
IEC environment)
61215/61730 • IEC 60068 -2-68 (sand abrasion: Dust and sand desert)
• Newly designed standards (TS)
• IEC TS 62782:2016 - dynamic mechanical load
• IEC TS 63126:2020 - operation at high temperatures
Extended durability testing (based on IEC) have been designed and proposed by several research groups
and certification bodies. GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL
43
Extended testing (2)
Extended durability testing include:
a. Increasing stress levels and duration (time periods and number of cycles);
E.g. Thermal Cycling (200  400  800 cycles) or Damp Heat (1000  3000 hours)
b. Multiple combined stress factors (e.g. humidity and UV or humidity and high applied voltage)
Two major problems with the “do it yourself” approach to product qualification:
(1) it may require module manufacturers to do more testing than is necessary.

(2) it may force module manufacturers to make costly but unnecessary changes to their
products to pass tests that do not predict module performance.
As of today, no consensus on the effectiveness of such extended testing sequences exist.

44
Outline
1. Introduction

Track-record of PV system/module lifetimes
D. Jordan et al., 2016 cited

46
35 years of PV: the TISO-10-kW plant 1/3
1982 2017
70% of modules experience a degradation of ≤ 20% and would still be covered

by a 35-yrs-long warranty set at 80% of initial power. GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL
47
The TISO (Ticino Solare) PV plant: first grid-connected plant of Europe (May 1982);
• Installed in Lugano (46°N, 8°57’E), temperate climate:
insol. 1243 kWh/m2/y, min/max air T 1.1-20.8 °C, min/max RH 57-80 °C (avg)
• The history of the plant (35+ years) is very well documented
Modules (35 cells) manufactured in 1981: ARCO-Solar ASI 2600

• Cells: c-Si (mono), 4’’ wafers, thickness 320-330 µm, 2 ribbons
• Encapsulant: PVB (we exclude presence of EVA, even if manufacturing soon swithched to EVA)
• Module sealing is quite solid:
3-mm glass, backsheet: Tedlar/steel/Tedlar, edge seal, J-box closed on all sides

48
Discoloration of encapsulant: yellowing & browning
Power variation (2017 vs 1982) for modules belonging to the three different classes based on
different encapsulant discoloration levels.
Long-term performance of modules strongly depends on the quality of the encapsulants!
49
More details?
Part 1: Prog Photovolt Res Appl. 2019;27:328–339

Part 2: Prog Photovolt Res Appl. 2019;27:760–778

50
What can we learn from a 35 yrs-old technology ?
ITRPV Report 2018
• Packaging structure of Arco Solar modules is quite solid

(glass + PVF/steel/PVF BS + edge seal >>> no EVA).
• Closer to glass/glass rather than to conventional glass/foil structures, used in the

vast majority of modules deployed so far.
51
What do we learn from a 35-years-old technology?
The great leap forward……..
Dramatic evolution in technologies in the last 35+ years
• Cell size, power, thickness
E. Cunow, • Cell technologies
33rd EUPVSEC 2017
J. Hascke et al.
En. Env. Sci. 2017
• Modules: busbar/ribbon number, size, materials, structures

• Systems: trasformerless inverters (no grounding required),
higher system voltages (1500+ V), … GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL
52
Technology evolution: c-Si modules
1982 2018 2028
Photon 6/2018
& ITRPV Report 2017
53
Degradation rates for c-Si (crystalline silicon) modules
D. Jordan, S. Kurtz, Prog.Photov. 2013; 21: 12-29 D. Jordan et al., Prog.Photov. 2016; 24: 978-989
Dirk C. Jordan, NREL 2013 & 2016

‘Compendium of photovoltaic degradation rates’ & related works.
Data for PV systems/modules from an extensive literature survey GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL
54
Degradation rates of Silicon Heterojunction Technology
O. Arriaga Arruti et al., pending for submission (2022)
7
All data-sets
6
High-accuracy data-sets Not a clear climate dependence
All (54 sets) Median: 0.56 %/year Filtered (19 sets) Median: 0.80 %/year trend
6 Average: 0.70 %/year 5 Average: 0.83 %/year
5
4
Main failure modes
Counts
Counts
4
3
3 > 1 %/year
 Often not studied.
2
2
 Loss in VOC (several climates).
1 1
0 0
 Encapsulant browning ⟶ not
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
PLR (%/year) PLR (%/year) particular to the SHJ technology.
Caveats particular to this survey

 Mainly Sanyo/Panasonic technology
 G/BS module configuration
 Front-emitter
 Limited statistics and temporal horizon (max. 10-15 years). GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL
55
How do we ensure the 35+ years of operation
of SHJ modules?
Main issues of SHJ technology
Nomalized power, Pmax (%)
100 c-Si (0.5 %/y)* Sensitivity to:

-20% over 35 years 1. Moisture ingress
90 (0.57 %/y)
2. PID
3. UV exposure
80 This survey - SHJ
all (0.56 %/y) We can solve them!
70
This survey - SHJ
filtered (0.80 %/y) Solutions:
60  Use of high volume resistivity
Thin-films (1 %/y)* encapsulants (ionomer, PO)
50
 Prevent moisture ingress by applying an edge
*Jordan
*Ref. [21] et al. (2013)
sealant.
40
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40  Using encapsulants with UV cut-off or a cut-
Years in operation off no lower than 353 nm.
56
Other applications
BIPV VIPV
Taken from: ISFH
Higher stresses and new materials

One of the Terra-cotta Tones, with ISSOL, Solstis
Userhuus, SFOE GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL
57
Conclusions (1)
• Do PV modules reach 35 years of service lifetime?  YES!!!

Example the Tiso-10 solar plant.
Important: different technology & temperate climate.
• PV technology has evolved considerably over the last decades:

PROS: know-how, better material/process/design quality control, track record, etc.
CONS: increased requirements (e.g. system voltages), new cells/materials entering

the market for which no track record exist
• A note of caution: deployment in non-temperate climates (hot-humid, hot-arid,

maritime...) for which little experience exist
58
Conclusions (2)
• Consistent manufacturing as one of the key enablers:

Quality Management Systems (QMS)
• Accelerated-aging testing  beyond qualification testing  limits & potential

59
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020
research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 792059
Thank you for your attention!

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This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020

research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 792059

2. Factors impacting module reliability over lifetime

5. Do PV modules make it to 35 years?

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

2. Factors impacting module reliability over lifetime

5. Do PV modules make it to 35 years?

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

PV modules’s typical warranty: 25 yrs with 80% of initial performance.

Mechanical Stress Atmosphere Moisture

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

Why do we need them?

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

2. Factors impacting module reliability over lifetime

5. Do PV modules make it to 35 years?

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

Components Modules Installation Operation

• R&D • R&D • Transport • Climate

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

Components Modules Installation Operation

• R&D • R&D • Transport • Climate

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

Components Modules Installation Operation

• R&D • R&D • Transport • Climate

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

Components Modules Installation Operation

• R&D • R&D • Transport • Climate

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

2. Factors impacting module reliability over lifetime

5. Do PV modules make it to 35 years?

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

Good materials selections, optimal design and manufacturing quality are

How do we ensure quality in manufacturing?

 An effective Quality Management System (QMS) is required.

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

An effective QMS in manufacturing should manage properly:

Warranties and returns In-line

Visual Inspection Electroluminescence

I-V Electrical stress

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

Ideal solar cell:

https://www.pveducation.org/pvcdrom/solar-cell-operation/series-resistance GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

https://www.nmtronics.com/solar/hspv.html Solar simulator:

WET LEAKAGE TEST

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

Larger capacity can be leveraged to obtain better

Visual inspection (VI)

Array I-V curve

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

• Localization of array interconnection failures

Electrical mismatch of cells Cell cracks/burn marks Active bypass diode

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

GoPV Project | SUMMER SCHOOL

2. Factors impacting module reliability over lifetime