pv magazine Webinar | Cell cracking: the invisible performance thief

Industry awareness and mitigation of PV cell microcracks have improved in recent years, but there are signs that the problem may still be grossly underestimated by many. Microcracks can grow over time into full-fledged cell cracks and begin to have serious impacts on a PV system’s performance and safety. In this pv magazine Webinar, an expert from Clean Energy Associates (CEA) guides us through the risks posed by undetected microcracks, and what module buyers can do to prevent their development.

Cell microcracks are undetectable by the naked eye, and can even be difficult to spot in standard electroluminescence imaging. They eventually grow and get worse over time, and can reduce the performance of the entire string of modules. Some cracks may result in the development of hotspots, which can lead to catastrophic failure – even fire risk.

In this pv magazine Webinar, Claire Kearns-McCoy, Engineering Services Manager at CEA, will take us through the risks posed by undetected microcracks in a PV module, including how the problem can develop during the module lifecycle, and the challenges of proving the origin of a performance damaging crack in order for warranty or insurance claims to pay out.

Participants to this webinar will leave with an improved understanding of the business risk posed by cell cracking and how module buyers can work to mitigate this risk throughout the entire solar project lifecycle. Claire will also demonstrate how additional electroluminescence testing of modules and other interventions can effectively reduce the performance and safety risks of cell cracks.

pv magazine Webinar content:

• The business impact of undetected microcracks to a PV project
• Which types of microcracks are most likely to affect project performance?
• Risk of microcrack development during module lifecycle
• Techniques to identify and mitigate sources of microcracks and keep cracked modules out of a project
• Q&A

Attendees will have the opportunity to submit their questions for the speakers and become part of the discussion during the live Q&A. Mark Hutchins, editor at pv magazine, and Anne Fischer, senior editor at pv magazine USA will be the moderators of this webinar.

Registration for this pv magazine Webinar is free of charge.