Solar Quality Summit Europe

As PV and BESS technologies evolve rapidly, traditional assumptions about quality, reliability and performance are being challenged. This keynote sets the scene by examining emerging risks, evolving technologies, the inspection of component production, and the growing importance of uncertainty management.

The solar and storage industries are evolving rapidly, driven by new technologies, changing market dynamics, longer asset lifetimes, and increasing performance expectations. This session provides a data-driven overview of the trends shaping asset quality across PV and BESS, examining how innovation, cost optimisation and operational experience are influencing long-term performance and reliability. Through field evidence and industry insights, speakers will explore where expectations are being met, where new questions are emerging, and what these developments mean for asset owners, manufacturers, investors and operators.

Qualification testing and industry standards provide the foundation for quality assurance, helping manufacturers, developers and investors assess technology readiness and performance expectations. However, as technologies evolve and assets are expected to operate reliably for decades under diverse environmental conditions, stakeholders increasingly seek a deeper understanding of how laboratory results translate into real-world outcomes. This session explores the relationship between qualification testing, field performance and long-term asset quality across PV and BESS. Through operational experience, field data and emerging quality assurance approaches, participants will examine how the industry can strengthen confidence in asset durability and performance throughout the lifecycle.

PV module technologies continue to evolve rapidly, bringing new opportunities for improved efficiency and lower costs, alongside new questions regarding long-term durability and performance. This workshop explores the latest field experience across established and emerging module technologies, examining how design choices, materials, manufacturing processes and operating conditions influence long-term asset outcomes. Through technical case studies, failure investigations and operational data, participants will gain insight into the mechanisms that drive performance variation, reliability challenges and degradation in real-world conditions.

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are becoming an essential component of the energy transition, yet significant uncertainties remain regarding their long-term performance, degradation and operational lifetime. Rapid advances in battery chemistries, system architectures and operating strategies mean that historical experience is often insufficient to predict the performance of today's systems with confidence. This session will explore the current state of knowledge on BESS reliability and durability, highlighting the evidence available from field operation, testing and operational experience, as well as the key gaps that remain. Discussions will examine how technical uncertainty influences financing, insurance and investment decisions, and what additional data, methodologies and industry collaboration are needed to develop more robust, evidence-based approaches to risk assessment. Bringing together perspectives from asset owners, developers, manufacturers, insurers, financiers and researchers, the session will discuss how the sector can improve confidence in long-term BESS performance and support the development of risk-informed business models for large-scale energy storage.

Following the Summit programme, the Networking Dinner offers great opportunities to connect and exchange gathered insights while enjoying a special location in Málaga (more details on the location will follow soon).

Asset performance ultimately depends on the reliability of the components that make up PV and BESS systems. Connectors, solar cell encapsulants, junction boxes, inverters, cooling systems and other critical components are all exposed to environmental and operational stresses that influence long-term performance and reliability. While qualification testing provides an important baseline, real-world operating conditions often reveal degradation mechanisms and failure modes that only emerge after years of field operation. This session explores how climate, electrical loading, thermal cycling, mechanical stresses and operating strategies affect component performance in the field. Drawing on operational data, forensic investigations and advanced diagnostic techniques, speakers will examine how monitoring and analytics are improving the industry's ability to detect early signs of degradation, understand root causes and translate component-level insights into more effective maintenance strategies and longer asset lifetimes.

The rapid evolution of PV technologies has challenged the industry's ability to predict long-term performance using historical datasets alone. As new cell architectures, module designs and manufacturing processes continue to emerge, robust field evidence is becoming increasingly important for understanding durability, reliability and investment risk.

This session brings together the SUPERNOVA project and its sister initiatives, including SOLARIS and PVOP, to present how large-scale field data, operational experience and reliability research are improving the evidence base for photovoltaic assets. Discussions will explore how project outcomes are supporting the development of more transparent, risk-based approaches for insurers, financiers and asset owners, while identifying remaining knowledge gaps where additional data and greater transparency in manufacturing and production parameters are needed. The session will examine how collaborative European research can help move the sector from conservative assumptions towards evidence-based risk assessment, supporting more informed financing, insurance and investment decisions.

As battery energy storage systems become a critical component of modern energy infrastructure, understanding their long-term performance and reliability is increasingly important. This workshop examines the technical and operational factors that influence battery lifetime, safety, availability and financial performance. Drawing on operational experience, failure analysis and performance data, the workshop will explore how stakeholders can better understand and manage lifetime risk across the BESS lifecycle.

As the first generation of large-scale PV assets and energy storage systems matures, owners are increasingly faced with strategic decisions that extend beyond routine operations and maintenance. Aging equipment, evolving technologies, changing market conditions and new sustainability requirements are creating opportunities to rethink how value is managed throughout the asset lifecycle. This session explores the decision-making frameworks that support lifetime extension, repowering, component replacement, recycling and second-life applications. Drawing on technical, operational and commercial perspectives, discussions will examine how asset owners can balance performance, risk, sustainability and economic value as assets approach key lifecycle milestones.

Quality is established long before an asset begins operation through technical specifications, procurement requirements, contractual commitments and performance expectations. However, delivering these expectations throughout development, construction and operation requires effective governance, quality assurance and clear allocation of responsibilities across the value chain.As technologies evolve and asset lifetimes increase, performance outcomes are increasingly shaped by decisions made by manufacturers, developers, EPCs, operators and asset owners. When expectations are not met, determining responsibility and ensuring that risks are allocated to the parties best positioned to manage them remains a significant industry challenge. Bringing together perspectives from across the sector, this session will explore how quality can be embedded and maintained throughout the asset lifecycle, how performance can be verified in practice, and whether current contractual frameworks, warranties and insurance mechanisms provide the right incentives and accountability. Discussions will examine how stronger governance and clearer allocation of responsibilities can improve long-term asset performance while reducing technical and financial risk.

As the solar and storage industries continue to evolve, quality can no longer be viewed solely through the lens of technology, testing or compliance. It increasingly shapes investment decisions, operational strategies and long-term asset value.In this closing conversation, two industry leaders reflect on the discussions from Solar Quality Summit 2027 and explore how the industry can better navigate the relationship between quality, uncertainty and risk.