TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ELECTRICAL POWER AND ENERGY - Preferred Method: In fabricating photovoltaic module, the support layer of the laminate has an exhaust aperture, where, in step (d), air is withdrawn from the laminate through the exhaust aperture in the support layer. Air is withdrawn through the exhaust aperture until a pressure within the laminate between the transparent layer and the support layer lies in the range from about 0 to 50 millibar absolute. Sealing step (b) is performed by engaging the laminate completely about its periphery in an air-tight fixture, the fixture having a vacuum port, and where in step (d), air is withdrawn from the laminate through the vacuum port in the fixture. Air is withdrawn through the vacuum port until a pressure within the laminate between the transparent layer and the support layer lies in the range from about 0 to 50 millibar absolute. In step (b), the fixture engages the exterior surface of the transparent layer or, the exterior surface of the support layer or, the exterior surface of both layers. The fixture engages the edge surface of the transparent layer or, the edge surface of the support layer or, the edge surface of both the support and transparent layers. The fixture is substantially rigid in planes parallel to the exterior surfaces of the transparent and support layers, such that, during step (c), the rigidity of the fixture prevents pinching of the layers of the laminate in the vicinity of their edges. The heating source is a source of radiation having a wavelength in the range 0.3 to one hundred (100) micrometers; the heating source is a source of radiation having a wavelength in the range 0.4 to twenty (20) micrometers; or the heating source is a source of radiation having a wavelength in the range 0.4 to ten (10) micrometers. Transparent layer of the laminate is made from glass having a thickness of about three millimeters (3) mm, where the encapsulant material is polyvinyl butyral, ethylene vinyl acetate or an ionomeric material, and where the heating source is a source of infrared radiation having a peak wavelength in the range from about one (1) to about ten (10) micrometers, where at least thirty percent (30%) of the available energy from the infrared radiation source is directly absorbed by the encapsulant material. Transparent layer of the laminate is made from glass having a thickness of about three millimeters (3) mm, where the encapsulant material is an ionomeric material filled by twenty percent (20%) weight by weight glass fiber and where the heating source is a source of radiation having a peak wavelength in the range from about one (1) to about ten (10) micrometers, where at least fifty percent (50%) of the available energy from the infrared radiation source is directly absorbed by the encapsulant material. The transparent layer of the laminate is made from glass having a thickness of about three millimeters (3) mm, where the encapsulant material is an ionomeric material filled with two percent (2%) weight by weight carbon black and where the heating source is a source of radiation having a peak wavelength in the range from about one (1) to about ten (10) micrometers, where at least sixty-five percent (65%) of the available energy from the infrared radiation source is directly absorbed by the encapsulant material. The ionomeric material comprises a finite amount of polymerized residues of alpha -olefin and from about 18 to about 25 wt.% of polymerized residues of alpha , beta -ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid based on the total weight of the composition, the ionomeric material is about 5% to about 40% neutralized with one or more metallic ions based on the total carboxylic acid content, and the ionomeric material has a melt flow rate in the range of about 5 to 40 g/10 minutes (ASTM method D1238 at 190 degrees C). The ionomeric material comprises a finite amount of polymerized residues of an a-olefin and from about 18 to about 25 wt.% of polymerized residues of alpha , beta -ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid based on the total weight of the composition, the ionomeric material is about 5% to about 40% neutralized with one or more metallic ions based on the total carboxylic acid content, and the ionomeric material has a melt flow rate in the range of about 5 to 40 g/10 minutes (ASTM method D1238 at 190 degrees C). The encapsulant material is an ionomeric material and where the additive is two percent (2%) weight by weight carbon black; or the encapsulant material is an ionomeric material and where the additive is twenty percent (20%) weight by weight glass fiber. The ionomeric material comprises a finite amount of polymerized residues of alpha -olefin and from about 18 to about 25 wt.% of polymerized residues of alpha , beta -ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid based on the total weight of the composition, the ionomeric material is about 5% to about 40% neutralized with one or more metallic ions based on the total carboxylic acid content, and the ionomeric material has a melt flow rate in the range of about 5 to 40 g/10 minutes (ASTM method D1238 at 190 degrees C).