https://www.pv-tech.org/massive-increase-in-solar-module-defects-poses-significant-risk-to-pv-industry-cea/
The most eyebrow-raising result was a “massive increase” in micro-cracks between the start of 2022 and mid-2023. CEA found that incidences of both line cracks and complex cracks in US modules rose 47% from the start of 2022, the period in which the US has begun to both produce and deploy more solar modules following the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). But, it should be noted that correlation does not prove causation.
All of these defects are only visible through the use of electroluminescence testing, which CEA said is done by passing a current through a solar module in a dark environment and capturing the emitted infrared light with specialized cameras.
Quality assurance
Whilst defects occurred through shipping, installation and increased extreme weather events, the majority arose during the manufacturing process, CEA said, and show the need for independent, third-party quality assurance schemes and increased awareness of quality issues throughout the solar industry. It was not made clear in the report how significant any one of these issues is, or what the specific impact on module efficiency and performance might be.
In Europe, where domestic production is less and imports account for almost the entire market, the issue exists too. Speaking at the Solar and Storage Live 2023 event in Birmingham, UK last month, CEO of UK-based solar technical advisory firm 2DegreesKelvin, John Davies said: “We’re still seeing a huge, alarming amount of manufacturing defects coming through on brand new, fresh out of the packet modules from tier one manufacturers. There’s a lot of manufacturing defects that actually effect the power and will deteriorate over time.”
https://www.pvel.com