The Seller’s Market Puts Pressure on Quality

Frequency of high-risk quality concerns found in module purchase contracts has increased 20x from '20H1 to '22H1

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Jun 15, 2022

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Tips to plan your PV module procurement from India

Leading the PV module pre-shipment inspection service for Indian buyers, we have had the opportunity to see a lot of transactions between Indian and International counterparts. Indian manufacturers have progressed in their manufacturing techniques and business approach.

In this article, we would like to share some tips that can help global developers with their PV modules procurement in India.

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Apr 26, 2022

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Quality Material Sourcing for Indian PV Module Manufacturing

What do you need to know when you source solar cells from China?

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Apr 19, 2022

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Back to the future with BESS

Today, the level of manufacturing maturity that we observe is surprisingly low for stationary storage systems. We recommend that you bear witness during the entirety of the factory acceptance test and bring a thorough set of quality assurance activities to the pack assembly stage, both of which can reveal potential failure points and are crucial given the industry's relative immaturity.

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Apr 12, 2022

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Most Impactful Module Technology Trends and Supply Chain Challenges in 2022

In this document, we present some trends on larger module which STS has observed in its inspection activities and how the PV industry score today in supply chain traceability audits.

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Mar 17, 2022

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Hidden Traps

In this article “Hidden Traps” published in PV Magazine October Edition, you will get an idea on how to formulate a good purchase agreement by identifying the potential pitfalls that companies may miss, such as quality control plan details, the selection of the inspection body performing QAQC, and supply chain transparency requirements.

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Nov 8, 2021

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How To Maintain Quality
Under the New Indian Basic Customs Duty Scheme in 2022?

It is generally challenging to maintain a high level of quality through any disruption of the supply chain: it takes time for new factories to build stable processes, to design robust quality management systems, to integrate new requirements and for new operators to acquire training and experience. One important element to be looked at in this context is the Quality Control Plan (QCP) used during manufacturing of the components.
Commanding manufacturers to use an appropriate QCP is the first step to ensure quality. Ideally, a standardized QCP, such as the one described in the Industry Standard STS-STD-PVM1:2018©, is used across the entire portfolio of projects, maintaining the same level of quality regardless of the evolution of the supply chain.

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Sep 16, 2021

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Solar Supply Chain Traceability Protocol 1.0

The protocol, co-authored by STS, details a set of recommended policies and procedures to identify the source of a product’s material inputs, and trace the movement of these inputs throughout the supply chain.
It mainly targets to help solar companies meet compliance obligations and, importantly, provide customers with assurances that their solar products are free of unethical labor practices.

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May 12, 2021

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It's time to Standardize QA/QC

Today, many developers “check the box” of QAQC without realizing that a number of very important variables are hid-den in the simple statement “we are using a third party to inspect modules during production.” For the QCP, the scope of control and enforcement of the requirements, we recommend to apply the Industry Standard STS-STD-PVM1:2018.

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Apr 7, 2021

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What Are the Key Performance Considerations for Bankability of Solar Assets?

Bankability is ensured through the evaluation and mitigation of all risks potentially faced by the project. Since PV modules are typically the largest part of the hardware investment, evaluation and mitigation of modules technological risks is often necessary to get the project financed.

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Feb 25, 2021

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LET’S TALK ABOUT ACCREDITATION!

Before commissioning a third-party inspection provider to perform the inspection activity, we highly recommend to consider weather the service provider is accredited (such as ISO17020) with required technical competence, ways to safeguard full impartiality, and enforcement of an adequate Code of Conduct (such as no conflict of interests, no freelance inspectors…), etc.

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Feb 25, 2021

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How Can Advanced Data Analytics Help Cost Reduction and Improve Operation & Maintenance of Large- Scale Solar Plants?

What is the most effective way to avoid hotspots prevalence in the field caused by manufacturing defects? It is to capture the defects at the source: the production line!

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Dec 24, 2020

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STS White Paper-Large Modules

This White Paper identifies each risk item associated to larger modules, explains the nature of the risk identified, and suggests mitigation strategies.

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Dec 17, 2020

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Who is inspecting your inspectors?

Who is inspecting your inspectors? And why is ISO17020 increasingly required by assets developers and owners? From avoiding conflicts of interest to full transparency, the ISO17020 accreditation ensures you can trust your inspectors to work in full impartiality.

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Jul 7, 2020

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STS-STD-PVM1:2018© Part 2 – Addendum AA3 English

This Addendum addresses multi-busbars photovoltaics solar cells used instead of ribbons-soldered photovoltaics solar cells during the manufacturing of PV modules.

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Standard

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May 13, 2020

150.00

STS-STD-PVM1:2018© Part 2 – Addendum AA2 English

This Addendum complements the Standard by adding and modifying requirements when laser-cut photovoltaics solar cells are to be used instead of full photovoltaics solar cells during the manufacturing of PV modules.

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May 13, 2020

150.00

STS-STD-PVM1:2018© Part 2 – Addendum AA1 English

This Addendum specifies the changes to be brought to STS-STD-PVM1:2018© when applied to Bi-facial solar cells technology

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Apr 30, 2019

150.00

Securing PV Modules Quality: Trends and Best Practices

This keynote addresses the trends observed by STS in module buyers selection and appointment of third party inspection agencies, and gives recommendations on the best practices to apply to establish relevant quality assurance methods on PV modules procurement.

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Apr 23, 2019

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STS-STD-PVM1:2018© - Parts 1 & 2 - EN+CN

STS-STD-PVM1:2018© lays down requirements for the manufacturing, dispatch, and related procedures for inspection and testing of photovoltaic (PV) modules. It is most suited to large-scale ground-mounted photovoltaics systems as it considers limited impact of cosmetic non-conformities.

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Standard

English + Chinese

Jan 31, 2019

350.00

STS-STD-PVM1:2018© - Parts 1 & 2 - CN

STS-STD-PVM1:2018© lays down requirements for the manufacturing, dispatch, and related procedures for inspection and testing of photovoltaic (PV) modules. It is most suited to large-scale ground-mounted photovoltaics systems as it considers limited impact of cosmetic non-conformities.

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Jan 31, 2019

200.00

Trends in China's Crystalline PV Modules Manufacturing and Related Risks

This keynote introduce findings by STS on 2015 to 2018 during manufacturing inspections, the improvements made by modules manufacturers and the risks that buyers must consider when selecting a module supplier.

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Oct 23, 2018

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STS-STD-PVM1:2018© - Parts 1 & 2 - EN

STS-STD-PVM1:2018© lays down requirements for the manufacturing, dispatch, and related procedures for inspection and testing of photovoltaic (PV) modules. It is most suited to large-scale ground-mounted photovoltaics systems as it considers limited impact of cosmetic non-conformities.

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Standard

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May 14, 2018

200.00

Statistical Analysis of PV Module Quality in Mass Production

Through the in-depth analysis of tens of thousands of PV modules, this document offers a detailed perspective on which quality defects are the most present in PV modules, and at which rate, so that PV modules buyers and PV projects stakeholders can better anticipate the required actions to prevent risks in PV modules

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Oct 31, 2013

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Quality: Current Limitations, Issues and Solutions In Mass Production

With ever dropping PV module prices, quality of solar panels is more than ever topical. In this talk held by Thibaut Lemoine at Solarpraxis’ 4th PV Power Plant Conference, 12 prejudices about PV modules’ quality are being addressed.

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Oct 31, 2012

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Results 2011 Presentation

This report is an in-depth presentation of the results obtained by testing 70,000+ solar panels throughout 2011. The report analyzes these results in order to provide an accurate picture of PV makers’ actual quality level.

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Feb 29, 2012

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Assessing The Real Quality of PV Modules

With new industrial challenges faced by the PV industry – such as the striking development of Chinese manufacturers, and ever more demanding investors and financial institutions – the quality of PV modules has never been as important as it is today. Because normative requirements are not matching the buyers’ expectations, the questions of what the real quality of a PV module is and how to assess it still remain. This paper analyzes the current situation in terms of quality and the causes of problems, and proposes some ways of addressing the issues in order for the industry to progress on the long path to excellence.

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Jul 31, 2011

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