Dr Radovan Kopecek

Since the 15th century we know that the earth is round and since the 16th century we have accept that the earth is orbiting around the sun. However, the heliocentric system was not easy to accept by many disbelievers.

PV is increasingly becoming the cheapest energy source and therefore has become the energy source with the highest yearly capacity additions! Even in 2018, after some scepticism right after SNEC 2018, due to the announcement of the Chinese Government to stop supporting PV as intensively as in 2017, more than 100GW (109GW) have been installed worldwide (we actually bet a crate of beer on that!) and 125GW has been forecasted to be installed in 2019.

When we visit conferences and industrial players, we are very often surprised at how many responsible scientists for PERC production have never heard about the severe degradation effects that PERC devices can show – in particular when talking about LeTID (Light and elevated Temperature Induced Degradation) alias Carrier Induced Degradation (CID).

Researchers are developing a new module specifically for use in desert areas, where much of the future growth in PV deployment is expected. Radovan Kopecek and Joris Libal of ISC Konstanz, one of the research partners involved, explain the thinking behind the 'AtaMo' module and its attributes in harsh conditions.