Daily CSR

Kiwa PVEL, an independent testing laboratory specializing in solar photovoltaic (PV) module reliability and performance, has released the 12th edition of its annual PV Module Reliability Scorecard. The report provides solar industry professionals with insights gathered through the company’s flagship Product Qualification Program (PQP), a rigorous testing framework that evaluates PV modules under extensive environmental and mechanical stress conditions.

For the 2026 edition, Ultraviolet Induced Degradation (UVID) has been introduced as a new Top Performer category, joining existing evaluation areas such as Thermal Cycling (TC), Damp Heat (DH), Mechanical Stress Sequence (MSS), Hail Stress Sequence (HSS), Potential Induced Degradation (PID), Light and Elevated Temperature Induced Degradation (LID+LETID), and PAN Performance (PAN).

This year’s Scorecard recognizes 43 manufacturers as “Top Performers” across one or more testing categories. However, unlike previous years, no single module model achieved Top Performer recognition in every test category.

According to Tristan Erion-Lorico, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Kiwa PVEL, the 2026 findings reveal both progress and challenges within the solar market. While some tests showed lower power degradation and improved energy output, failure rates — especially related to delamination and mechanical damage — reached record levels. He noted that ongoing innovation and cost-reduction efforts must be balanced with strong engineering and quality control to maintain long-term reliability in the field.

Major findings from the 2026 Scorecard include:

Reduced degradation in several tests, including UVID, PID, TC, and DH, but significantly higher overall failure rates, with 87% of manufacturers and 61% of bills of materials (BOMs) recording at least one failure.
Increased movement within the Top Performer rankings, including 13 manufacturers earning recognition for the first time, while several previously recognized companies did not appear this year.
No single manufacturer dominated across all testing categories.
Mechanical failures remained a major concern, particularly in MSS and HSS testing, while delamination defects rose sharply, affecting 45% of manufacturers.
Design and material optimization strategies, such as thinner encapsulants, slimmer frames, and zero-busbar configurations, were associated with greater risks of degradation or failure, emphasizing the need to balance efficiency improvements with durability.
Energy yield performance continued to improve due to advancements in bifacial technology and temperature coefficients, although LID degradation slightly worsened, likely linked to the growing number of new solar cell manufacturing facilities.

The 2026 PV Module Reliability Scorecard is available online and includes a complimentary Top Performer search tool that enables users to filter results by manufacturer, module type, and testing category, as well as export data for additional evaluation.

Kevin Gibson, Managing Director of Kiwa PVEL, stated that the increasing complexity of the global energy sector makes independent and data-driven validation more important than ever. He emphasized that while efficiency and performance gains continue, the rising number of failures highlights the importance of reliable testing to help investors and industry stakeholders assess quality and manage risk effectively.

To qualify for inclusion in the 2026 Scorecard, manufacturers were required to complete PQP sample production factory witnessing after November 1, 2024, submit at least two factory-witnessed module samples for all PQP reliability tests according to Kiwa PVEL’s BOM requirements, and achieve new Top Performer results not previously featured in the 2025 edition.

Additionally, Kiwa PVEL confirmed that an updated version of the Scorecard will be published in November 2026.

Click here to visit the Scorecard online.