Abstract
With Photovoltaics (PV) becoming mainstream and hundreds of GWs of capacity being added worldwide year after year, it is vital that PV systems can reliably generate electricity for an extended lifetime, while ensuring sustainability from energy, environmental and investment viewpoints. The introduction of novel PV designs and technologies must meet the demands for improved field performance and reliability through continuous updates and refinements in innovation. In terms of using advanced procedures to increase the lifetime of PV technologies, a lifetime quality assurance policy along the PV value chain at component and system levels is analysed for feasibility and practicality. Such a quality assurance naturally creates further challenges in bankability, warranty, and contractual terminology – as well as a need for improved communications standards across the PV value chain. In this context, the ETIP-PV is developing an updated Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) for the PV sector in 2024. One of the five challenges of the SRIA is focused on the enhancement of lifetime, reliability, and sustainability of PV technology. The first objective of the Challenge is dedicated to Sustainable and Circular Solar PV. The second objective focuses on Reliable and Bankable Solar PV. The most effective strategy for reliable and bankable solar PV is to prevent the occurrence of failures and by reducing the impact of failures once they become evident. In new PV projects, the focus must be on the application of novel preventive mitigation measures to minimize the probability of failure occurring once the PV plant is in operation. For existing PV projects, advanced data driven mitigation measures need to be developed to go beyond the state-of-the-art concept of corrective maintenance. In this work, we will present the results in terms of updated KPIs and targets for 2030, which have been defined in several meetings leveraging on the expert pool of the ETIP-PV. We will also link the results to market growth scenarios to present how the targets can help to increase the reliability and bankability of PV plants. The ultimate goals are to better “quantify” quality along the value chain and to improve the risk profile of PV projects. This will in turn facilitate access of PV projects to lower WACCs (Weighted Average Cost of Capital) and enable bankable approaches, products, and services.