DuPont PV Solutions discussed ways that Africa’s PV market could continue to growth, mainly via the choices in solar materials to combat risk while ensuring a return on investment.
The company sponsored PV Project Development Africa 2013 with its EMEA marketing manager, Dr. Stephan Padlewski, as a featured speaker. He said, “What we are finding indicates that materials choices are key to how well and how reliably panels perform over time.”
The backsheet material should protect the panel from the elements and provide electrical insulation for the 25-year expected lifetime of the panel, but not all backsheet materials will withstand the harsher temperatures, higher exposure to UV, and thermal cycling of Africa. He explained that in order for the African solar energy industry to continue to grow, it is important for solar investors to understand what impact materials selection has and which materials will help ensure reliable panel performance.
DuPont provides recommendations on industry-standard bill of materials, and provides panel manufacturers with materials technology that will best match power output and expected lifetime goals of solar installations. “DuPont has an extensive field testing program that examines panels in various stages of use and in different climatic conditions to identify causes of premature aging,” said Padlewski.
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