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Note
Title from title screen (viewed July 27, 2011).
"July 2011."
"Presented at the 37th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC 37), Seattle, Washington, June 19-24, 2011."
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (p. 6).
Summary
Photovoltaic (PV) customers need to have confidence in the PV modules they purchase. Currently, no test can quantify a module's lifetime with confidence, but stress tests are routinely used to differentiate PV product designs. We suggest that the industry would be strengthened by using the wisdom of the community to develop a single set of tests that will help customers quantify confidence in PV products. This paper evaluates the need for quality assurance (QA) standards and suggests a path for creating these. Two types of standards are needed: 1) QA of the module design and 2) QA of the manufacturing process.
