Overview

Concerns about global warming have led to increasing efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Hence, the installation of renewable energy sources including solar and wind has significantly increased and is projected to provide two-thirds of electricity in 2050. For photovoltaic (PV) systems to be competitive with traditional (e.g. fossil, hydro) and other renewable energy sources (e.g. wind), they need to perform with reliability or safety over a long duration (20 years or more). This chapter provides overview and detailed information about fundamental theoretical and experimental backgrounds, the structures and physical/chemical /mechanical/interfacial properties, observed and failure issues in the lab or field, performance evaluation in lab accelerated and field tests, important research results or findings, service life prediction and future challenges and needs for durability and reliability of the components and materials of PV module and system.