pv magazine Week Europe | Session 5 - Module quality and risk – Ensuring reliability in a rapidly expanding market

Europe installed 65 gigawatts of new PV capacity last year and is aiming for a similar target this year. At current module prices, this represents €6.5 billion in module value deployed across rooftops, commercial systems, and utility-scale projects. With such enormous sums at stake, ensuring the quality and reliability of every solar module is more critical than ever.

Whether it’s glass breakage, weak frames, UVID- or PID-related degradation modes, or encapsulant failures – when something goes wrong with a module, an entire project can be at risk. That’s why quality assurance at the point of purchase and robust, verifiable production standards are essential safeguards for developers and investors alike.
What are the most common quality traps developers still fall into? How can buyers and EPCs protect themselves through better procurement strategies, audits, and long-term testing? And how do banks and institutional lenders assess module quality when deciding on project financing?

In this panel, we bring together project developers, module manufacturers, testing laboratories, and financial institutions to discuss the most pressing risks in today’s global module market — and how the industry can work together to mitigate them.

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Key takeaways:
- Solar projects are moving into harsher environments and niche applications.
- Specialized modules (floating, agrivoltaics, etc.) are emerging to meet these needs.
- The market must assess if this is lasting innovation or a response to tough competition.