Around 30% of global PV modules have defects, according to the findings of the latest report from DuPont, a solar panel materials company.
The study, which inspected nearly 3GW of PV across nine million panels, also found 16% of backsheets to be defective.
There has been a four-fold increase in PVDF backsheet defects in arrays between four and nine years old, DuPont said in its Global Photovoltaic Reliability Report.
The study also highlighted emerging trends in backsheet failures, such as a rapid increase in cracking in PVDF backsheets, cracking of inner layersand delamination in double glass modules.
DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions senior scientist and global technology leader Kaushik Roy Choudhury said: “As we begin a new decade, DuPont continues to work on assessing how panels and materials are ageing in the field, often with sobering results.”
Choudhury added: “Delamination and cracking were observed in multiple double glass module installations… it appears to originate near edges of a module or at individual cells, while cracks likely originate at scratches or chips on glass surfaces and edges or at stress risers introduced by the racking system.”
The latest DuPont report is intended to help buyers and investors understand the breadth of component degradation issues and module failures that can occur in the field.