It’s easy to leave the job of module quality, reliability and even bankability up to “the big companies” or the distribution partners, or Bloomberg or a myriad of other players in the industry whose job it is to help parse what suppliers get blessed with acceptance to Approved Vendor Lists. But what if you really did want to know which solar module suppliers can actually back up their bankability report with true field-tested reliability data? It’s not something that is a luxury for just the Utility-scale developers & EPCs any longer. As we cross the chasm to the early majority, we increasingly need to ensure that the product being sold to homeowners and business owners alike is going to actually perform as the spec sheet suggests it will. Enter PVEL and their nearly decade-long study of PV Module industry reliability.

PVEL is a pioneer in the solar industry, helping buyers, investors, research institutions, and manufacturers to not only select the best photovoltaic (PV) products but also understand the impact of that selection on projects (and customers’) results. One of their key contributions is their annual PV Module Reliability Scorecard, a comprehensive report that holds manufacturers to high standards and assists in identifying the best performing materials and products in the market.

And the person at the helm of that report is Tristan Erion-Lorico, the VP of Sales and Marketing for PV Evolution Labs (PVEL). We had Tristan on the show way back in 2018, and he’s long been an example I point to of someone who can rise up the ranks in a technical role without an engineering degree! PVEL benefits from Tristan’s 15 years of experience in the solar and electrical industry, where he collaborates with a wide array of PV module stakeholders to ensure that PV product testing and qualification is done with the highest level of integrity and transparency.

Tune in to better understand PVEL's rigorous testing process for PV technology, their unique PV Module Scorecard, and the implications it has for both raising the bar for manufacturers and providing you, the installer, with better selection criteria. You'll gain an understanding of emerging technology trends as well, including the ascension of N-type “Topcon” cells, as well as the various ways solar modules do fail (ie, what to look out for!). Tristan also highlights the rise of India in the solar manufacturing sector and forecasts upcoming trends for the industry. This episode is brimming with insights for anyone involved in the buying solar panels.

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