News
PV Project Bankability: Exploring Quality and Technical Risk
In this pv magazine Week Europe webinar, Jörg Althaus, Intertek CEA’s Director of Engineering Services & Quality Assurance, provides insights into the most common quality issues impacting PV plants today and outlines strategies to mitigate these risks.
From Standards to Sandstorms
pv magazine: Jörg Althaus and Huatian Xu detail how the Middle East’s rapid solar expansion is shaped by both aggressive local-content industrial policies and the region’s uniquely harsh desert conditions.
Preventing Costly Delays: Early QA Uncovered Hidden Design Risks in a PV Tracker + Cleaning Robot System
Case Study: Intertek CEA identified a hidden mismatch between the design documents and the factory-assembled tracker + cleaning robot system before it could impact the project. Catching it early helped the client avoid delays, rework, and long-term performance risk.
Demand Diligence From Domestic Battery Integration
pv magazine: Jeff Zwijack, Intertek CEA’s Senior Manager for Energy Storage, explains how tariffs are driving a shift to U.S. battery integration. He notes that while local assembly scales quickly, it introduces human variability requiring strict oversight.
Avoiding Costly Defects in Energy Storage: A Developer’s Guide to Quality Assurance
MESIA's Report 2025: Jeff Zwijack, Associate Director of Energy Storage at Intertek CEA, explains that most defects in battery energy storage systems arise during system-level integration rather than cell or module production.
Intertek CEA Audit Prevents Unsafe Equipment from Reaching Client and Reveals Supplier Misconduct
Case Study: Intertek CEA’s audit prevents defective battery cabinets from reaching a project site and exposes the supplier’s resale of unsafe equipment. The case underscores the importance of independent quality oversight.
Most Common BESS Manufacturing Defects of 2024
Intertek CEA conducted quality audits at 70+ battery energy storage factories worldwide. Our data shows that in 2024 the vast majority of identified quality issues were at the system level.
Navigating Quality Risks for U.S. Module Buyers: From Warehoused Inventory to New Manufacturing Facilities
This pv magazine webinar addresses the quality risks U.S. solar module buyers face due to increased warehousing and the emergence of new manufacturing facilities. Experts from Clean Energy Associates (CEA) will discuss the rise in warehoused modules, common storage-related risks, quality concerns in new manufacturing environments, and strategies to mitigate these issues
Using Data to Enhance Safety and Performance
In this pv magazine article, George Touloupas, CEA’s Senior Director for Technology and Quality, reviews the quality assurance (QA) activity and methodologies used to ensure PV performance and emphasizes the importance of data-driven approaches and continuous monitoring.
Navigating the 2024 U.S. Election: Impacts on Solar and Energy Storage Policies
In this Energy Storage webinar, Senior Policy Analyst Christian Roselund and Director of Energy Storage Market Intelligence Dan Finn-Foley analyze the potential impacts of U.S. policy changes on solar and battery storage.
Best of the BESS Suppliers
In this pv magazine article, Jeff Zwijack, CEA’s Senior Manager for Energy Storage, explores the essential factors in selecting battery energy storage system (BESS) suppliers. With insights on supplier technology, quality assurance, and risk mitigation, Zwijack guides developers in building resilient, high-performance energy storage projects.
The Cold, Hard Truth About Soldering Defects
In this PV Tech article, Paul Wormser, Vice President of Technology, and Jake Edie, Vice President of Marketing, discuss the prevalence of soldering defects in solar panels, their impact on performance, and how robust quality assurance measures can help mitigate these risks.
PV module quality control and testing: using data and analysis to enhance safety and performance
In this webinar, CEA experts present findings on the most common issues seen in PV manufacturing factories, based on their latest inspection data.
Ensuring PV Manufacturing Quality
Over the past 8 years, Intertek CEA has conducted more than 70,000 quality inspections in over 300 PV module factories. This report highlights concerning quality trends from the past few years in PV module manufacturing, which could lead to performance and safety risks in the field.
Red Flags for Green Energy: What to Look Out For In Supply Chains and Projects
In this Solar Power World article, Jake Edie, Vice President of Marketing CEA, discusses the changing dynamics in the solar and energy storage markets and emphasizes the importance of maintaining high standards for quality in suppliers, products, project design, and installation to avoid costly issues.
Racking and Trackers: Quality Issues in the Factory and Design Considerations for Utility-scale Solar Installations
In this pv magazine Webinar, Nicholas Hudson, Principal Engineer Engineering Services, and Jörg Althaus, Director Engineering and Quality Assurance Services, discuss common issues during production, what the downstream impact of those issues are, and action that can be taken to prevent these risks.
FAT for Fitness
Large-scale, stationary battery energy storage systems (BESS) have rapidly become crucial components of modern power grids. With the increasing adoption of BESS, however, the risk of battery fires has increased, as Jeff Zwijack of Clean Energy Associates reports.
The Biggest Clean Energy Surprises in 2023 and What They Mean for 2024
CEA’s Vice President of Marketing, Jake Edie, recently wrote an article in Renewable Energy World about the most surprising findings in clean energy and what developers and buyers will be watching most closely as 2024 unfolds.
Top BESS QA Manufacturing Defects
Following extensive factory quality audits on over 30 GWh of energy storage projects over the past six years, Intertek CEA’s BESS Quality Risks Report highlights identified key defects and issues, including their causes and associated risks.
BESS Manufacturing Quality: Lessons Learned From More Than 30GWh of Factory Inspections
In this Energy-Storage.news webinar, CEA’s Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) experts will share essential lessons learned after performing factory quality audits on over 30GWh of BESS projects.