By Sylke Meyer, Sylke Meyer is head of the research group “Silicon Wafers” at Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics CSP, Germany.; Marko Turek, Marko Turek leads the team “Electrical characterisation of solar cells” at Fraunhofer CSP.; Stephan Großer, Stephan Großer studied physics and received his Ph.D. in the field of surface science at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.; Thomas Manke, Thomas Manke is the head of solar business at pi4 robotics in Berlin.; Christian Hagendorf, Christian Hagendorf is head of the research group “Diagnostics of Solar Cells” at Fraunhofer CSP, Germany.
Module degradation | When the phenomenon of so-called snail trails first emerged over a decade ago, they prompted concerns of a major new problem afflicting PV modules. Sylke Meyer, Mark Turek, Thomas Manke, Stephan Großer and Christian Hagendorf, who have contributed extensively to understanding the science behind snail trails, review the latest thinking on the phenomenon and what it means for plant performance.