Material innovation to bring long-lasting solar panels in market

Material innovation is ramping up in solar as the industry aims to address the widespread decrease in performance over time that affects photovoltaic (PV) modules, according to Lux Research.

Solar modules degrade over the years, due to environmental factors, causing performance drops and even failures. Such degradation is growing in importance because of its impact on financial models, long-term reliability, and adoption in regions with extreme climates.

“New evidence of climate-dependent degradation is creating new opportunities for non-standard material adoption in module packaging. Recently unveiled module lines from Yingli and BYD use new materials, while other new module assembly designs are likely to be offered over the next five years,” said Tyler Ogden, analyst, Lux Research, and lead author of the report titled, ‘Extending lifetime and performance: breaking down the photovoltaic module’.

According to Lux Research, which examined new initiatives to arrest degradation of PV modules and their potential benefits, better ways to prevent degradation are key to success because many promising emerging solar markets lie in extreme climate zones - Mexico, Chile, Turkey, South Africa, India, and Malaysia. 

At the same time, it found that no single technology can do the trick. “A next generation metal wrap through (MWT) module with polyolefin encapsulation offers performance benefits in moderate, and hot and humid climates, while Solaria and Yingli modules are optimal in hot and dry zones. Standard glass/glass technology with polyolefin encapsulation leads in cold and snowy places,” said Lux Research in a press release.