asset underperformance

Equipment-driven underperformance in PV power plants has tripled over the past five years, according to Raptor Maps.

Speakers at LSSEU in Lisbon said that underperformance is a "massive" problem in the PV industry, which can be solved with "good data".

Fraunhofer ISE research suggests that the average monocrystalline silicon PV module’s power output was 1.2% lower than its nominal capacity.

Undetected faults and damage in solar PV modules, like cracks, manufacturing errors and foreign material, pose a “significant risk” to the solar industry according to a new report from US renewables firm Clean Energy Associates (CEA).

Solar module underperformance has nearly doubled since 2019, accounting for around US$2.5 billion in projected losses for the global solar industry.

Concerns have been raised that the US solar industry’s reputation could be impacted by underperforming assets if investors do not see their return profiles being realised several years down the line.

Last year analysis by renewables performance aggregator and insurance provider kWh Analytics highlighted the extent of solar asset underperformance against P50 estimates in the US. Here, the company’s Sarath Srinivasan details some of the reasons behind that underperformance.