The global capacity of photovoltaic (PV) power projects is set to increase to 446GW by 2020, with India and China leading the way in new installations, says Frost & Sullivan.

However, lack of expertise and the risk of technical failures during planning, manufacturing, installation, commissioning or parametrizing of components in younger solar markets can hamper the efficiency of the plants.

As the deployment of PV technology in Asia is in a less mature stage compared to many Western countries, there is a strong interest and demand from private equity investors for certified PV power plants in the Asia Pacific region.

To mitigate threats to the project for investors, insurance companies, plant operators and grid operators, and to increase quality and performance of solar plants, DNV GL developed one of the world’s first documents for certification of photovoltaic power plants.

The service specification addresses the certification of existing power plants as well.

DNV GL head of renewables certification Asia Pacific Chakradhar Byreddy said: “While reverse bidding helps to reduce the cost of energy, currently there are no checks and balances to ensure quality of installations over the life of Power Purchasing Agreements. Therefore, implementation of PV plant certification as a mandatory requirement during the bidding process can alleviate the risk for investors and taxpayers.

“This PV plant certification helps to verify a high quality standard of a project, which in turns benefits the private equity investor during exit valuation. With this new specification, DNV GL is ideally positioned to help our customers comply with local requirements and demonstrate the safe and secure energy production throughout the power plants’ life cycle.”