Canadian Solar begins production of new 420W rooftop module

Canadian Solar has kicked off mass production of a new solar module targeting the residential, commercial and industrial markets, with a power output of up to 420MW and an efficiency of up to 21.5%.

The Ontario-based company, said the latest member of its HiKu6 182 cell module family – with the catchy name of CS6R-MS – was especially suitable for rooftop solar applications, given its small module size, light weight and “homogenous” appearance (including an all-black version).

The company said the module could offer 5-10W more power and around 0.5% higher module efficiency than other similar format PERC modules in market, as well as a 25-year product warranty on materials and workmanship for residential rooftop applications.

Canadian Solar is a popular brand in Australia and a member of the Silicon Super Major League – a group of mostly China-owned companies that dominate the market supply of solar modules and continually drive research and development. (Contrary to what the name suggests, Canadian Solar panels are predominantly manufactured in China.)

In its statement this week, the company said that shipments of the new 54-cell format modules had started this month, which suggests they could reach the Australian market within the first half of the year.

“I am excited to announce that we have started mass production and delivered the first batch of the 54-cell modules of up to 420W based on 182mm PERC cells,” said Canadian Solar founder and CEO Shawn Qu.

“Our new products will further improve the energy yield and reduce the LCOE of residential, commercial, and industrial rooftop solar systems, and meanwhile enable to offset more CO2 emissions.”

As well as PERC (passivated emitter and rear contact) cells, Canadian Solar says it is also developing a CS6R module with HJT (heterojunction) cells, with up to 22.5% and efficiency and power output up to 440W. Commercial delivery of those is expected to begin this April.