Simon Prüller Encapsulant & Backsheet: The Key to PV Lifespan What a High-Alpine PV Plant with 30+ Years of Operation Teaches Us If you want real long-term reliability data for PV modules, you rarely get a better testbed than a mountain. On Loser near Altaussee, a PV plant commissioned by Energie AG has been operating since 198... Jan 31, 2026 Our blog
Office 2nd Cycle Year in Review 2025: A strong year for reuse, data, and recycling 2025 was a good year for 2nd Cycle. Not loud, not exaggerated—but successful. We achieved important milestones, worked with strong partners, and saw that our approach works in practice: evaluating pho... Dec 31, 2025 Our blog
Office How Wien Energie and 2nd Cycle are extending the life cycle of PV modules Photovoltaic modules have been considered durable capital goods for many years. However, when they are dismantled after 20 to 25 years, operators often assume that replacement and recycling are the on... Dec 11, 2025 Our blog
Office Reuse instead of disposal: How LINZ AG is extending the life cycle of PV systems with 2nd Cycle What to do with photovoltaic modules when a system has to be dismantled? Until now, the answer was usually recycling or disposal – often well before the end of their actual service life. LINZ AG has n... Nov 27, 2025 Our blog
Simon Prüller Why Solar Systems Lose More Power Output Than Modules When talking about the service life of PV systems, the same figure almost always comes up: 👉 0.5% power loss per year. This value comes from meta-studies conducted by Fraunhofer ISE and NREL and descr... Oct 24, 2025 Our blog
Simon Prüller Testing PV modules: Why precise testing can make a difference of millions When a power plant is flooded In the fall of 2024, a once-in-a-century flood hit the EVN photovoltaic park in Dürnrohr. The plant, with 35,600 modules, had been in operation for just one year when it ... Oct 16, 2025 Our blog
Simon Prüller Has the performance of PV modules really tripled over the last ten years? A fact check on efficiency, area coverage—and new challenges More and more often, we hear people say, “The performance of PV modules has tripled in recent years.” Sounds impressive—but is it really tr... Jul 24, 2025 Our blog
Simon Prüller Disposal and Recycling of PV Modules in Austria – An Overview 1. Legal Framework & Producer Responsibility Since July 1, 2014, PV modules in Austria are subject to the Waste Electrical Equipment Ordinance (EAG-VO) , which implements the EU WEEE Directive. Accord... Jun 8, 2025 Our blog
Simon Prüller Declining Quality in New PV Modules: Why Quality Checks Are Crucial In recent years, a concerning trend has emerged in the photovoltaic industry: the quality of many new PV modules is declining. According to a study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems... May 27, 2025 Our blog
Simon Prüller Digital UID for PV Modules – Why Traceability Is the Key Against Illegal E-Waste A Global Problem: E-Waste in Landfills The mountain of electronic waste (e-waste) is growing rapidly worldwide – including an increasing number of decommissioned PV modules. Far too often, however, th... May 26, 2025 Our blog
Simon Prüller Photovoltaics Explained Simply – Basics, Structure & Potential of Solar Energy The Potential of Solar Energy Every day, the sun delivers an unimaginable amount of energy to Earth – in the form of electromagnetic radiation. This energy source is renewable, globally available, and... May 26, 2025 Our blog
Simon Prüller Visual Inspection of PV Modules – The First Look with AI Support What Is a Visual Inspection? Visual inspection is one of the most fundamental yet most important testing methods for photovoltaic modules – whether in production, in the field, or as part of second-li... May 26, 2025 Our blog
