IEC Technical Report 63525 on the Reuse of PV Modules: Final Result

To promote PV sustainability, an IEC project team was created to prepare a Technical Report (TR) 63525 “PV module reuse and circular economy”. The TR working draft has been finished recently and includes recommendations for PV module reuse, that can also serve as a basis for the future development of normative documents. The possibility of reducing the on-site inspection work by sampling of PV modules is discussed. Although this is a promising approach, the TR still recommends testing every PV module for possible reuse. The recommended tests (for PV modules without repair) are visual inspection, I-V, EL, bypass diode test and dry insulation test. Although the dry insulation test is not sensitive to all insulation defects, it is not recommended to do the wet insulation test for every PV module. It is only recommended after certain repairs, like junction box replacement or backsheet repair. The remaining power is recommended to be still above the guaranteed value, taking the age of the PV module into account. An additional label should be placed next to the original one, with the new maximum system voltage indicated (either the original or a reduced value when necessary).