Understanding Solar Module Test Failures: Key Takeaways from Kiwa PVEL’s PV Module Reliability Scorecard

Every year Kiwa PVEL’s Photovoltaic (PV) Module Reliability Scorecard highlights the technical advancements and limitations of commercially available solar modules. Modules included in the Scorecard are subjected to a series of extended reliability and performance tests, known as the Product Qualification Program (PQP), and the aggregated data and analysis is published at scorecard.pvel.com. This has become the industry’s leading publication on PV module reliability and offers readers a wide range of key insights. In June 2025, Kiwa PVEL will release the 11^th edition of this annual report. While the Scorecard often showcases the advances made in PV manufacturing, it also reveals concerning trends. For example, the 2024 Scorecard reported that two-thirds of participating manufacturers and 41% of bill of materials (BOMs) experienced at least one test failure. Specific PQP tests, like thermal cycling (TC) and damp heat (DH), showed significant failure rates. This paper will offer a deep dive into the latest findings from the 2025 Scorecard, which promise to be as impactful as those included in previous editions.