The present invention provides a solar module formed using a powder coating and thermal treatment process. The solar module includes a substrate having a surface region and a photovoltaic material overlying the surface region. The solar module further includes a barrier material overlying the photovoltaic material. Moreover, the solar module includes a coating overlying the barrier material and enclosing the photovoltaic material to mechanically protect the photovoltaic material. In certain embodiments, photovoltaic material is a thin film photovoltaic cell and the coating is provided by a powder coating substantially free of bubbles formed by electrostatic spraying and cured with a thermal treatment process.