Goodbye to the idea that solar panels “die” after 25 years. A new study says the warranty does not mark the end, and performance can last for decades. Arrays built in the late 1980s still produced more than 80% of their original power. The long-term economics look better than many people believe. https://www.bocvip.com/1170237/goodbye-to-the-idea-that-solar-panels-die-after-25-years-a-new-study-says-the-warranty-does-not-mark-the-end-and-performance-can-last-for-decades-arrays-built-in-the-late-1980s-st/ #energy
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The original paper:
“Three decades, three climates: environmental and material impacts on the long-term reliability of photovoltaic modules”, by Ebrar Özkalay et al. 2025.
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2025/el/d4el00040d
A study done in Switzerland:
“This study analyses the long-term performance of six PV systems in Switzerland over three decades, with more than 20 years of high-quality monitoring data.”