Solar PV : An industry in denial
All eyes will be on Europe for the next couple of months. With fear of reprisals going further than the solar PV industry, there is no clear understanding of what will happen despite all the rumours and assumptions being made. Even if tariffs are agreed there will be six months of appeals before implementation occurs.
The entire situation has revealed how divided the solar industry has become in terms of goals and directions. It has also distracted from potentially more serious issues the industry must face up to. There are growing reports that some modules are failing within a few years of operation and achieving nothing like the planned quarter century that clients assumed they had to return their investments.
The initial culprit appears to be failing coatings designed to protect the working life of modules. This is a growing concern and some brands are faring worse than others. Without a transparent line of identification of manufacturer to some PV products, it is not an easy task identifying where the problems lie. Some installations are revealing failures rates of 12% and more.
If the industry does not deal with this issue then rest assured they will forced to do so as some of the faults are causing life threatening fires, although this level of fault remains minute in comparison to installations.
The industry also has to come to terms with diminishing public support for solar and other renewable energies. To initiate public fervour in the first place and to encourage financial support, solar was inappropriately positioned as a saviour of all energy woes and represented as environmentally benign. This is not true and the public are being fed horror stories of failing product and a lack of financial returns due to diminishing capacity in government supported subsidies.
The industry has to get on with the business of selling solar as part of a longer term energy solution. Despite the massive growth solar only accounts for a minuscule amount of energy produced around the world.
The energy source may be environmentally friendly but manufacturing methods and eventual waste issues means that solar is far from environmentally benign.
This is another issue for the industry to get serious about before authorities force measures that may not be so business friendly. There are plenty of benchmarks in other industries if you wonder what could happen to ensure solar energy improves its own footprint while helping reduce everyone else's footprint.
The dumping issue has shown an industry divided, facing real concerns that require the industry to collectively seek solutions. The industry should not wait for the China issue to resolve before actively taking on other industry concerns together.
Left alone, these are the issues that could come back and haunt the industry in the future.
