Overview and comparison of solar panels above 500 Wp

Recent research from BloombergNEF shows a significant drop in the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) from renewables. In 2020, solar and wind energy became cheaper than coal as a source of electricity in global trend-setters such as the U.S., many EU members, China and India. To catch up with this new tendency, manufacturers are adopting bigger wafer sizes to increase the power output from a single module and therefore reduce LCOE even further. In this article, Solarity has compiled a short overview of the new ultra-high solar panels launched only recently by seven Tier 1 manufacturers.

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    Canadian Solar

    On July 1, Canadian Solar celebrated Canada Day 2020 by introducing its fifth and sixth series of solar modules.

    Canadian Solar core technologies include:

    • Advanced dual cells with LDS (low-damage slicing) and MBB (multi-busbar technology) to reduce cell micro-cracking risk significantly.
    • HTR (hetero-type ribbon) and PA (paving) help to decrease the gap distance between cells from 2mm to under 0.7mm. This alone reduces the cell gap by 70% and boosts efficiency 0.6%.

    The fifth generation HiKu and BiHiKu modules offer up to 500 W. HiKu 5: 166mm dual cells with MBB and paving technology. The sixth generation HiKu and BiHiKu modules offer up to 590 W. HiKu 6: 182mm (M10) dual cells with MBB and paving technology.

    JA Solar

     

    JA Solar has launched the Deepblue 3.0 large-area PV panel series which provides power outputs of more than 525 W. Deepblue 3.0: M10 wafers with 11-busbars, ultra-t glass and Percium+ technologies.

    Longi

    There are two models in the new bifacial Hi-MO5 panel series, with Longi claiming power output of 540 W for the 72-cell product and 495 W for the 66-cell offering. Hi-MO5: M10 wafer ‘smart welding’ technique to secure interconnection between cells, improving efficiency by 0.3% compared to standard MBB products and reducing cell tensile force by 20%.

     

    Jinko

    JinkoSolar launched a new module series, led by its 78TW panel, which offers a Tiger Pro power up to 580 W. Equipped with Jinko’s tiling ribbon technology, its products are based on monocrystalline PERC cells with an efficiency of 21.4%. All its modules are available in bifacial and single-sided versions.

    Risen

    Risen Energy has unveiled its 500 Wp+ PV modules made with 210mm M12 wafers. It claims the products could easily reach 600 Wp of output with a 60-cell panel, adding it believes they could hit 625 Wp with n-type cells.

    Trina

    The Duomax V and Tallmax V Trina panels are equipped with glass-glass and glass-backsheet frames, respectively. Both offer a reported 21% efficiency and reported power output of 500 W using M12 wafers and MBB.

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