Delamination of Solar Panels – A Threat to the Profitability of Solar Projects?

By Momentum Energy Group A/S | [email protected]

26 June 2013

The park has been in operation since 2010 and is performing very well – as a matter of fact the solar panels produce, in average, 20 % above the estimated budget.

A year ago some of the solar panels started to show signs of delamination. A later investigation shows that the delamination problem primarily lies within specific manufacturing series. The panels in question have been in operation in 3 years. So far there is no concluding evidence that states whether or not the production is lower because of the delamination. But is this a false security?

The concern is about whether the expected longevity of minimum 20 years is correct. If not, it will cause a great blow to the profitability of the solar project. Moreover, it is not conclusive whether or not it is to be expected that the production output will drop significantly on the panels that show signs of the delamination.

Many things point in the direction that the delamination is a symptom of sloppy fabrication work in China. In the years where the demand for solar panels was at its maximum the production went on too hasty.

In addition, the quality check has probably been too poor. Visible imprints from hands lies under the cover glass on many of the solar panels – in itself this is a major point of critique that should have been discovered through simple visual control.

A solar panel consists of several layers. It becomes obvious that the process of putting the layers together, in some cases, has been carried out manually with a poor quality as a result.

Technically speaking this means that air and damp has been allowed to enter between the layers in the solar panels that should be hermetically tight. The symptoms of un-tight layers are large white stains (discoloration) under the cover glass. The white stains become larger and more propagated on the mentioned panels series during a period of time.

For investors with investments in solar panels it is important that the quality of the panels is checked. As a manager of solar parks it is natural for us to ensure that the assets function optimally.

Momentum Gruppen are currently taking initiatives to get the panels checked further and are preparing to contact the producers if the standard of the panels prove to be unacceptable.

For further information please contact CEO Kim Madsen on +45 46 33 70 10 or [email protected]