Quality

Held in September, the seventh pv magazine Quality Roundtable made its debut in India at the Renewable Energy India Expo. The discussion raised a series of pertinent points relevant to India’s soaring solar market, particularly concerning the need to place quality ahead of cost.

In solar PV, while the world seems focused on quantity – how many megawatts installed, at what price – solar power manufacturers, installers, and operators know that quality is crucial to the successful delivery of clean and profitable power.

Last week’s Renewable Energy India exhibition was a busy, bustling affair that highlighted the rude health and impressive energy of India’s solar sector. There are still many hurdles to overcome, however, if India is to develop its own domestic manufacturing industry.

PID in India: In the cost-conscious Indian solar sector, ensuring reliable power output should be the number one priority. However, an example of one solar farm suffering from the ill-effects of under-performing modules, installation malpractice and unsatisfactory maintenance shows how corner cutting from the outset is more damaging in the long run.

Funded by the EU with €14 million ($14.9 million), the AMPERE project was launched at Enel Green Power’s PV module manufacturer 3SUN’s headquarters in Catania, Sicily. Further funding of €14.1 million currently under evaluation.

The German metallization and silver paste specialist will collaborate with Solar Space on the creation of regular new dual printing and other techniques in the pursuit of optimized metallization paste performance.

Quality issues: A solar power plant investor finds out that neither the warranty of the EPC, nor the warranty of the module manufacturer, was adequate. It would be good to clarify in advance what should happen in the event of a serial defect, and how the term “serial defect” should be defined at all.

The South Korean solar firm will supply its Q.Plus modules to German services provider Adler Solar to install at older solar sites in need of upgrade and repowering. The option remains open for Adler to upgrade the supply deal to 30 MW.

The Chinese Tier 1 solar developer announces a new conversion efficiency for its mono-crystalline silicon PERC cell that surpasses its previous world record by a full half-percentage point.