Over 70% of solar factories inspected globally showed “major” or “critical” defects last year, a new Intertek CEA report found. (PV Tech)
The data spans >80,000 inspections across 340+ PV manufacturing sites globally, which earned grades based on the number of observed issues and their severity. None earned the top A+ rating...and only 2% secured an A. These factory issues can translate to reliability and safety concerns with final products.
The culprit? Financial pressure. Manufacturers have been slashing quality assurance to survive a price war driven by chronic overcapacity, particularly in China. There, the five largest PV manufacturers posted combined losses exceeding $4B last year.
The winners: India and the US were the only countries with A-rated facilities. But domestic factories showed the highest critical defect rates in early stages. It's a flag worth watching as domestic manufacturing scales under tariff protection.