Assessing Fire Risks in Photovoltaic Panels: A Literature Review in the Context of Blackout Concerns

In recent years, Europe has faced several major blackouts, exposing weaknesses in its energy infrastructure and raising serious concerns about the continent’s ability to manage such crises. As the shift toward sustainable energy accelerates, solar power has emerged as a critical component of this transition, not only for its environmental benefits but also because it is currently the most cost-effective method of electricity generation. Over the past two decades, the photovoltaic (PV) sector has experienced continuous growth to meet rising energy demands. Published scientific studies on the technology and implementation of photovoltaic panels mainly focus on the benefits and present case studies of success. The article aims to outline the current state of research on the danger of spontaneous ignition of photovoltaic panels. The analysis revealed the most common causes of PV self-ignition. Moreover, following consultations with experts in the field of photovoltaic panel installations, a scientific gap in this area was identified—to the authors’ knowledge, no one has written on this topic so far—the use of flammable materials in the form of hermetically sealed quick connectors. The research is based on a literature review, employing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method to perform a bibliometric analysis of papers published between 2013 and 2024. The Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) and the ScienceDirect database are used for this purpose. A total of 62 papers are selected for analysis and categorized based on five fields: keywords in a title and abstract, total number of citations per paper, total number of publications per journal, total number of publications per affiliation, and funding name.