JA Solar claims new record in race to deliver 500W-plus PV modules

The race to deliver ultra-high powered solar panels of 500W capacity and above continues this week, with Beijing-based JA Solar announcing plans to launch its own “record-breaking” PV module on the market in the second half of 2020.

The company said in a statement this week that its high-efficiency solar modules, due for commercial release in later this year, had set a new industry record for power output by surpassing 525W under standard testing conditions.

It said the high-power module series aimed to bring JA Solar’s high-quality and cost-effective PV products to “a whole new level” for customers, further reducing the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) and maximising the value of solar systems.

Last month, JA Solar announced that it had become the first company, globally, to mass-produce high-efficiency Mono PERC MBB cells and modules using Ga-doped wafers – a technology that allows boosts power generation, particularly through better solar cell stability.

“At JA Solar, we have been focused on technological innovation, and committed to provide high-efficiency and reliable photovoltaic products for our global customers,” JA Solar’s chairman and CEO Jin Baofang said in comments this week.

“The latest breakthrough in module power output is another milestone in JA Solar’s efforts to enhance product performance and boost customers’ long-term economic benefits.

“In the future, we will continue focusing on the technological innovation of our products to drive the development of the photovoltaic industry, and allow more people to enjoy the benefits of the clean energy,” he said.

The JA Solar breakthrough follows up on a number of 500W+ module announcements from other major solar PV manufacturers, including from Risen Energy and Trina Solar.

In March, Risen Energy revealed it had signed a supply contract with Malaysian lightning and surge protection company Tokai Engineering to provide 20MW worth of its new 500W, high efficiency solar PV modules.

The PV modules use 210mm monocrystalline silicon wafers which Risen claims can reduce the balance-of-system (BoS) cost by 9.6% and the levelised cost of energy (LCoE) by 6%, while also increasing single line output by 30%.

And just last month, China’s Trina Solar said its recently launched Vertex series of panels had notched up a peak power output of more than 515Wp during independent testing.