How to mitigate the risks associated with large modules?

Alexandre Minuzzo, STS President, leveraging more than 10 years of STS experience of audits and inspections in PV module factories, was invited to answer this question at the Solarabic Webinar on “The Transition to High Power PV Modules in North and West Africa”.

When procuring PV modules, we recommend defining a minimum quality level of your products in the procurement contract: suppliers and products qualification rules, inspection and testing scopes, non-conformity management procedures, etc.

STS-STD-PVM1©, STS’ Industry Standard, is today the most widely used quality control plan in the industry. It strikes the right balance between buyer’s protection and supplier’s acceptance. The Standard is regularly updated to follow new risks on the market, some of them associated with larger modules: cutting of cells into halves or thirds, introduction of multi-busbar technologies, etc.

Today, about 80% of STS customers use the STS-STD-PVM1© standard with 24/7 inspection.