US PVMC Report: 2nd Annual SDO Forum

U.S. PVMC Report: 2 nd Annual SDO Forum Summary - 2013 

U.S. PVMC Report 

2 nd Annual SDO Forum at 

IEEE PVSC 2013 – Tampa, FL 

H.P. Seigneur, K.O. Davis, A.C. Rudack, M. Rodgers, 

W.V. Schoenfeld 

June 19 th , 2013

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Table of Contents 

Summary .................................................................................................................................................. 4 

Participants ............................................................................................................................................. 5 

Workshop Agenda 1 ............................................................................................................................... 7 

Pre-forum Survey .................................................................................................................................. 8 

Open Discussion .................................................................................................................................... 8 

1 – Potential Gaps ..................................................................................................................................... 8 

2 – Scope/Overlap Among SDOs and SAOs ............................................................................................. 15 

3 – Communication, Coordination, and Dissemination .......................................................................... 16 

Summary and Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 18 

Appendix A: Pre-Forum Survey Results ...................................................................................... 19 

Question 1 ............................................................................................................................................... 19 

Question 2 ............................................................................................................................................... 20 

Question 3 ............................................................................................................................................... 21 

Question 4 ............................................................................................................................................... 22 

Questions 5 – 13: Gaps Input .................................................................................................................. 23 

Question 14 ............................................................................................................................................. 25 

Question 15 ............................................................................................................................................. 27 

Questions 16 & 17 ................................................................................................................................... 28 

Question 18 ............................................................................................................................................. 29 

Question 19 ............................................................................................................................................. 29


Summary 

On June 19 th , 2013 at the IEEE PVSC conference in Tampa, FL the crystalline silicon branch 

of the U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium (c-Si PVMC) held the 2 nd Annual SDO 

Forum. The Forum was organized through collaboration with the following organizations: 

International PV Module QA Task Force 

® 

The SDO Forum is intended to be a platform to promote a cohesive and collaborative 

approach to PV standards and codes, with the primary goals of: 

1. Facilitating increased communication and coordination between the stakeholders 

2. Improving the dissemination of standards/codes being developed 

3. Supporting the wide adoption of developed standards/codes, and 

4. Identifying challenges and gaps in standards/codes in an effort to foster potential 

solutions 

The SDO Forum began with short presentations from each SDO and SAO, followed by an 

Open Discussion Period with three focus topics: 

1. Potential Gaps 

2. Scope/Overlap among SDOs and SAOs 

3. Communication, Coordination, and Dissemination 

Much of the open discussion was based on results from a pre-forum survey that was 

completed by many participants prior to the event.


Participants 

First Name Last Name Email Address Affiliation 

David Burns dmburns@mmm.com 3M 

Mark Campanelli mark.campanelli@nrel.gov NREL 

Philip Capps philip_capps@jabil.com Jabil 

Kris Davis Kris.Davis@uspvmc.org US PVMC 

Christine DeJong cdejong@astm.org ASTM International 

Neelkanth Dhere dhere@fsec.ucf.edu Florida Solar Energy Research Center 

Nanditha Dissanayake ndissanayake@bnl.gov Brookhaven National Laboratory 

Brian Dougherty brian.dougherty@nist.gov NIST 

Chris Eberspacher chriseberspacher@yahoo.com Unknown 

Keith Emery Keith.Emery@nrel.gov NREL 

Halden Field halden@pvmeasurements.com PV Measurements, Inc. 

Christopher Flueckiger Christopher.Flueckiger@ul.com Underwriters Laboratories 

Sean Fowler sfowler@q-lab.com Q-Lab Corporation 

Charles Hanley cjhanle@sandia.gov Sandia National Laboratories 

dan holladay Dan.Holladay@sematech.org SEMATECH 

Adam Hough adamh@itwsolar.com ITW Solar 

Jim Huggins jhuggins@solar-rating.org Solar Rating & Certification Corporation 

Jane Kapur jane.kapur@usa.dupont.com DuPont Photovoltaics-Encapsulants 

George Kelly solarexpert13@gmail.com Sunset Technology, Inc. 

Eric Kelso ekelso@pvmeasurements.com PV Measurements, Inc. 

Michael Kempe michael.kempe@nrel.gov NREL 

Tomas Koenig tkoenig@solar-rating.org Solar Rating & Certification Corporation 

Pramod Krishnani pramod.krishnani@belectric.com Belectric Inc. 

Sarah Kurtz sarah.kurtz@nrel.gov NREL 

Sumanth Lokanath slokanath@firstsolar.com First Solar 

Scott McWilliams scott.mcwilliams@uspvmc.org US PVMC 

Shaun Montminy smontminy@spirecorp.com Spire 

Dony Oommen doommen@gaf.com GAF 

Carl Osterwald Carl.Osterwald@nrel.gov NREL 

Nancy Phillips nancyphillips@mmm.com 3M 

Stephen Pisklak spisklak@dow.com Dow Chemical 

Siddharth Ram Athreya srathreya@dow.com Dow Chemical 

Florian Reil florian.reil@de.tuv.com TUV Rheinland 

Andrew C Rudack andy.rudack@uspvmc.org US PVMC 

David Sanchez david.sanchez@materion.com Materion Advanced Chemicals 

Eric Schneller eschneller@knights.ucf.edu University of Central Florida 

Winston Schoenfeld Winston.Schoenfeld@uspvmc.org US PVMC


Markus Schweiger markus.schweiger@de.tuv.com TÜV Rheinland 

Hubert Seigneur hubert.seigneur@uspvmc.org University of Central Florida 

Narendra Shiradkar nshiradkar@fsec.ucf.edu Florida Solar Energy Research Center 

Ron Sinton ron@sintoninstruments.com Sinton Instruments 

Owen Westbrook owestbrook@juwisolar.com Juwi Solar Inc 

Linda Wilson linda.wilson@sematech.org SEMATECH 

John Wohlgemuth john.wohlgemuth@nrel.gov NREL 

Scott Zimmerman scott.zimmerman@ametek.com Atlas Material Testing Technology LLC


Workshop Agenda 1 

5:00p – 5:20p Registration / Refreshments 

5:20p – 5:30p Welcome Comments and Forum Overview 

Winston Schoenfeld, FSEC / c-Si US PVMC 

5:30p – 5:45p SEMI 

Kevin Nguyen, SEMI 

5:45p – 6:00p ASTM International 

Christine DeJong, ASTM / Carl Osterwald, NREL 

6:00p – 6:15p IEC 

George Kelly, BP 

6:15p – 6:30p International PV Module QA Task Force 

John Wohlgemuth, NREL 

6:30p – 6:45p TUV Rheinland 

Mani Govindasamy Tamizhmani, TUV Rheinland 

6:45p – 7:00p Coffee Break / Networking 

7:00p – 7:15p UL 

Chris Flueckiger, UL 

7:15p – 7:30p Solar ABCs 

John Wohlgemuth, NREL 

7:30p – 7:45p CIGS US PVMC 

Linda Wilson, SEMATECH / US PVMC 

7:45p – 8:30p Open Discussion 

Moderator: Winston Schoenfeld, FSEC / c-Si US PVMC 

8:30p – 8:40p Summary / Meeting Wrap-Up 

8:40p – 9:30p Networking Reception 

1To download the 2013 2 nd Annual SDO Forum materials, refer to the following link: 

http://www.uspvmc.org/event_archives.html


Pre-forum Survey 

Prior to the Forum, a pre-forum survey was generated to gather information for various uses, a 

primary one being input to assist in the open discussion section. Just before the event, the results 

were compiled and assembled into a slide set that allowed effective reporting of open discussion 

relevant results. A summary of the Pre-forum Survey results is provided in Appendix A at the end 

of this report. The next section summarizes the open discussion that took place at the event along 

with excerpts of the slide deck used to assist in the discussions. 

Open Discussion 

The following section provides an overview of the open discussion period that covered three 

topical areas: (1) Potential Gaps, (2) Scope/Overlap of SDOs, and (3) Communication, 

Coordination, and Dissemination. To assist in the 

1 – Potential Gaps 

Those completing the pre-forum survey were asked to list gaps they feel exist in current 

standards/codes. Along with a short description, they were also asked to indicate its associated 

area (e.g. wafer, cell, module, system integration, etc…) and list up to two SDOs that they feel 

most suitable to address the listed gap. 

The open discussion on potential gaps was organized by area, consistent with the survey. The 

moderator, Dr. Winston V. Schoenfeld, read out the list of potential gaps taken from the survey 

and then opened the floor for open discussion. Below the slides for each area are provided, 

followed by any discussion content that was captured.


• One attendee stated that standards for CIGS materials and chemicals is something that 

should be considered by the PV community considering the challenges of scaling up 

manufacturing without standardized process materials 

• The first statement in the slide above (“Standards to test against degradation…”) isn’t 

really accurate from the perspective of module manufacturers according to one 

attendee. However, another attendee stated that while materials suppliers participate 

heavily in these types of standard activities, module manufacturers do not to the same 

level. 

• One attendee noted that the Chinese government, as well as the language barrier and 

large time zone difference with the west have limited participation by Chinese 

companies and organizations in the International PV Module QA Task Force 

• It was noted that the lack of material standards for non-crystalline materials may be the 

results of not being sure these material would stick around. 

• A general comment was made during this slide about perhaps the need not only for 

preemptive but reactionary type of standard development activities referring to Solar 

ABCs activity relating to a short notice on changes in the fire rating/code.


• One attendee raised the point that the probing/contacting of wafers is not standardized 

• Another attendee also mentioned that performance/efficiency measurements of wafers 

in production are not clear because cells are not finished. There is a need for different 

tests for lab and production environments.


• There was a clarifying statement made in connection with the radiance distribution. The 

need is respecting the angular distribution and not spectral distribution which is well 

defined already. 

• Regarding PID and a standard test, there is a draft with IEC 

• There is a draft regarding greater sample size (1853 p1, UL 4730) 

• Metastable module is not clearly defined 

• A question was asked about the existence of a standard addressing energy rating for 

various climates. The answer was yes – there is a draft (1853)


• One attendee expressed concern over the lack of standards addressing the upcoming 

NEC code change (2017 code cycle). A standard must be developed by 2015. Is there a 

need to pull NEC and other in future SDO forum so that the solar SDO do not always 

work in a reactionary mode but rather could coordinate early with code organizations 

• Another attendee mentioned that UL is currently looking into this issue (1699b) 

• On the issue of PV wiring standards (highlighted in the slide above), one attendee 

explained that safety standards (UL9703) are not the same thing as predictors of 

lifetime (e.g. reliability, durability) 

• One attendee stated that standards (e.g. test standards) need data to substantiate 

them, so data sharing by the PV community should be encouraged to ensure the best 

and most appropriate standards are used 

• For connectors and cables – WG10 of TC82 is looking into that.


• Regarding “PV module loading”, it was mentioned that IEC/UL set limits to 3x that of the 

standard code in general. This is a significant challenge since the code for building 

changes with geographical location.


• At this point, one attendee shared a general comment that ASTM standards are much 

more detailed in describing test methods when compared to international standards 

• Another attendee asked the questions as to why standards don’t show up on search 

results for things like Google Scholar (Not full standard, but at least an 

abstract/summary), pointing out that better integration with the scientific community 

would likely improve the quality of standards


2 – Scope/Overlap Among SDOs and SAOs 

• There is an overlap between 61215 and (61730); however, it is a healthy overlap. In 

practice, these standards are not redundant; they have different goals. There is a need 

to explain what the differences are and thus educate others.

3 – Communication, Coordination, and Dissemination 

U.S. PVMC Report: 2 nd Annual SDO Forum Summary - 2013



Conclusion 

Overall the 2 nd Annual SDO Forum served as a useful platform for open discussion and better 

understanding of the current and future activities of the multiple SDO/SAO groups. The preforum 

survey was highly valuable in stimulating the open discussion, and when coupled with 

the open discussion content led to multiple potential action items that the organizing entities 

have an opportunity to utilize collaboratively for mutual benefit. This report is meant to 

document the content of the 2 nd Annual SDO Forum and to be used by the organizing groups in 

preparation for follow-up meetings to determine specific action items that can be targeted as a 

group to capitalize on the multiple opportunities that were identified during the forum.


Appendix A: Pre-Forum Survey Results 

Question 1

Question 2 


Question 3 



Question 4 

Responses: 

1. Provide materials perspective and needs for innovative thin film and alloy/metal 

materials. 

2. Usually attendance is limited to ties when the meetings are close or combined with 

other events. Can't justify attending just the ASTM meeting at this time/budget 

environment. 

3. To work on standards. 

4. Interested in supporting standards development. 

5. IEC, USA Member Task Leader Thin Film PV Module Reliability, Co-Task Leader, Hot and 

Humid (with Voltage bias) Group, Member, Diodes Group; International PV Module 

Module QA Task Force Task Leader Thin Film PV Module Reliability, Co-Task Leader, Hot 

and Humid (with Voltage bias) Group, Member, Diodes Group; IEEE Senior Life Member, 

Photovoltaics Specialist. 

6. Because we use these standards in our daily work. 

7. We have developed several PV standards within SEMI. Our interest is to have standards 

that are technically sound and commercially neutral. We are industrial members of 

PVMC, and go to IEEE technical conferences. 

8. A) Present, review, discuss technical data relative to standards, and B) Participate in the 

development of standards. 

9. Voting member in some; Supporting standard NWIP/updates in others 

10. Networking and collaborative working sessions to actually work on standards. 

11. As a leader or co-chair. 

12. To ensure competitors do not gain an advantage due to language in standards; to offer 

assistance in my company's areas of expertise in the standards development process. 

13. Stay in touch with the industry - promote standards activities. 

14. Give suggestions. 

15. I have an interest in understanding upcoming proposals and changes to standards as 

they can both positively and negatively influence our business and the industry as a 

whole. 

16. Standards ultimately save money and will lower the cost of solar products. 

17. To help connect industry gaps to needs in standards development, adoption, awareness 

18. Because I am Vice Chair. 

19. To represent the interest of our member companies at the PVMC.


Questions 5 – 13: Gaps Input 

Materials/Chemicals 

1) Disconnect between material demands and proper inclusion of materials companies to 

provide proper materials with proper scale to meet ultimate demand. Fractured solar 

efforts obscure business case and make materials production investment difficult. 

Suggested SDO: Not Sure 

2) Standards to test against degradation of module materials due to exposure to sunlight 

and moisture is being addressed by IEC and the Int. PV Module QF, but there seems to 

be little participation from module manufacturers. Suggested SDO: Not Sure 

3) Lack of unified/accepted materials standards; Having an accepted/standardized 

methodology for measuring all of the parameters that are important to identify 

feedstock quality Suggested SDOs: SEMI, ASTM 

4) Overall Si recycling, incorporating recovered Si back into crystal melt; Utilization and 

standardization of kerf fines for incorporation into melt Suggested SDOs: SEMI, ASTM 

Wafers 

1) There is a need for a standard for marking / tracking wafers that does not rely on 

patented technology and that is based on a PV industry consensus from wafer 

producers, cell manufacturers, module manufacturers, and developers/installers. 

Ultimately, all these are stakeholders as there is a need to track wafers from the 

feedstock source all the way to field testing in order to improve reliability and durability. 

Suggested SDOs: SEMI, IEC 

2) Unified incoming wafer specifications and standards; Better specifications for 

mechanical and electrical characterization (Affects cell efficiency & end product 

performance). Consistency is needed. Lack of detailed information from customers (only 

pass/fail info given); Lack of US based solar companies for partnerships. Suggested 

SDOs: SEMI, IEC 

Cells 

1) Defectivity contribution - do we neeed PV focus on particles, surface chemistry, 

electrostatic attraction and standards in place Suggested SDO: SEMI


Modules 

1) Long-term durability concerns - linking of individual standards organizations. Suggested 

SDOs: ASTM, IEC 

2) There is no specification of the radiance distribution of the of light that illuminates a PV 

device in various calibrations and performance measurements. Suggested SDOs: ASTM, 

IEC 

3) Module size. Suggested SDO: SEMI 

4) PID (Potential Induced Degradation) test needs to be defined. Suggested SDO: ASTM 

5) Long-term reliability testing of modules for performance as well as safety as part of 

module qualification. There is a need for more rigorous testing than module 

qualification standards currently require and a need for testing greater sample sizes of 

modules. Suggested SDOs: IEC, UL 

6) Module electrical characteristics. Suggested SDOs: SEMI 

7) Module is electrical equipment, not PV, and belongs to TC15,TC112. Suggested SDOs: 

IEC, Int. PV Module QTF 

Balance of Systems 

1) Little data on out door testing of Connectors and cables. Suggested SDOs: IEC, IEEE 

2) There is no standard for PV wiring. Individual standards exist for components but non 

exist that covers an integrated assembly. UL 9703 is inadequate for environment. 

Suggested SDOs: IEC, UL 

3) Long-term durability concerns - linking of individual standards organizations. Suggested 

SDOs: ASTM, IEC 

System Integration 

1) Performance testing (short and long-term) for photovoltaic systems. Suggested SDOs: 

ASTM, Solar ABCs 

2) There is a gap between IEC/UL requirements for PV module loading vs. Building code 

requirements for structures. This gap needs to be bridged as IEC limits are 2-5x the 

building code requirements. Suggested SDOs: IEC, Int. PV Module QATF 

3) There is no standard for installation and construction practices of systems. Suggested 

SDOs: IEC, Solar ABCs


4) Piping Systems and Utilities. Suggested SDOs: SEMI 

Other 

1) Lack of knowledge/communication/acceptance of existing standards. Suggested SDO: 

Not Sure 

Question 14 

1. A central web site would be useful to monitor all standards development activity. 

2. Central web site, Central web site, … 

3. A central web site is a great idea. An email distribution list would also be helpful. 

SolarABCs has an excellent system in place for communicating with stakeholders. 

4. Website or blog that captures papers from various SDOs (IEEE, SVC, AVS, Intersolar NA, 

AIMCAL) which highlights critical approaches who need more cogent focus to make 

required materials at critical performance and price requirements to facilitate growth. 

5. Annual forums and perhaps a central website, both, will be helpful. There are too many 

organizations to monitor and participate in for my company, so this is a critical area of 

concern for me. 

6. SDO Forum, proposed standards dashboard that is well-maintained. 

7. Annual SDO Forum, Central SDO Forum Website, Standard Dashboard 

8. Although my first time in attending, I suspect this Forum approach at PVSC is a very 

approach. 

9. Annual SDO forum + email notifications of NWIP streams. 

10. More events where key groups can meet concurrently.


11. Open availability of data, publications and discussions. 

12. In my somewhat limited experience, the standards organizations are not well integrated 

with the technical literature. This isolates them to be for insiders only, with each 

organization subject to its own strong culture and history which can be difficult to 

penetrate. It would be good to have a technical review of the standards, to indicate 

which are technically useful for particular applications, and which are not. 

13. Do not know, tried already several things, no effect 

14. Press release, website announcement 

15. Get the stakeholders participating

Question 15 



Questions 16 & 17 

Responses: 

1) All main conferences attempt to include sessions for thin film, thick film and devicessome 

better than others. Capturing the fractured efforts may be biggest challenge. 

2) ASTM and IEC on many PV equipment related standards. 

3) IEC 60904-1 with ASTM E948 and E1036; IEC 60904-7 with ASTM E973; IEC 60904-9 with 

ASTM E927; etc.. 

4) IEC and ASTM on cell and module measurements. IEC and Semi on PV wafer and 

electronic wafer characterization. 

5) Certain ASTM standards have IEC/UL equivalents. Building code governs structural 

design, yet IEC/UL standards have PV loading requirements. IEC developing 

transportation standards when ISTA standards already exist. 

6) Overlapping UL/IEC standards for PV module testing and certification (e.g. UL 1703 vs 

IEC 61215/61646).


7) Wafer specifications. 

8) Actually I am unsure how much overlap exists. There is some coordination between the 

PVQA and IEC working groups, for example, and the these two groups have overlapping 

members with ASTM. In my opinion, ASTM would be better suited to develop standards 

for materials, while IEC should work on system integration and balance of system issues. 

PVQA could work with both organizations. I am unfamiliar with the activities of Solar 

ABCs and SEMI. 

9) IEC 61215/61730 and UL1703 

10) IEC/SEMI overlap on cell manufacturing. 

Question 18 

Question 19

US PVMC Report: 2nd Annual SDO Forum

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