Abstract-To test reproducibility of a technical specification under development for potential-induced degradation (PID) and polarization, three crystalline silicon module types were distributed in five replicas each to five laboratories. Stress tests were performed in environmental chambers at 60°C, 85% relative humidity, 96 h, and with module nameplate system voltage applied. Results from the modules tested indicate that the test protocol can discern susceptibility to PID according to the pass/fail criteria with acceptable consistency from lab to lab; however, areas for improvement are indicated to achieve better uniformity in temperature and humidity on the module surfaces. In the analysis of variance of the results, 6% of the variance was attributed to laboratory influence, 34% to module design, and 60% to variability in test results within a given design. Testing with the additional factor of illumination with ultraviolet light slowed or arrested the degradation. Testing at 25°C with aluminum foil as the module ground was also examined for comparison. The foil, as tested, did not itself achieve consistent contact to ground at all surfaces; but methods to ensure more consistent grounding were found and proposed. The rates of degradation in each test are compared and details affecting the rates are discussed.

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The failure and degradation modes of about 5900 crystalline-Si glass/polymer modules fielded for six to 16 years in three different photovoltaic (PV) power plants with different mounting systems under the hot-dry desert climate of Arizona are evaluated. Based on the results of this evaluation, failure mode, effect, and criticality analysis, a statistical reliability tool that uses risk priority number is performed for each PV power plant to determine the dominant failure modes in the modules by means of ranking and prioritizing the modes. This study on PV power plants considers all the failure and degradation modes from both safety and performance perspectives and, thus, comes to the conclusion that solder bond fatigue/failure with/without gridline contact fatigue/failure is the most dominant failure/degradation mode for these module types in the hot-dry desert climate of Arizona. Index Terms-Failure mode, effect, and criticality analysis (FMECA), reliability, risk priority number (RPN), statistical.

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