China PV manufacturer Trina Solar has claimed a new industry benchmark with its recently launched Vertex series of panels notching up a peak power output of more than 515Wp during independent testing.
Trina said on Monday that the “major breakthrough” for the 500W-rated panel was recorded by TUV Rheinland, a a global leader in independent inspection services.
TUV Rheinland said in the statement that Trina Solar’s Vertex module had passed the company’s “comprehensive and rigorous test” with industry-leading output reaching 515.8W.
The module – one of the first ultra-high power examples to be certified by international testing institutions – was also granted both the IEC 61215 PV module performance standard and the IEC 61730 PV module safety standard certificates.
Chris Zou, the vice president of solar services at TUV Rheinland Greater China said the module’s “industry-leading output” fully demonstrated Trina’s research and development “prowess.”
“We congratulate Trina Solar on its outstanding achievements in leading the growth of the industry and appreciate its innovative spirit,” Zou said.
Trina welcomed the new milestone, which it described as “another major breakthrough” following the formal mass production of the Vertex pilot line on March 18 and the shipment of the first Vertex order on March 27.
“The Vertex has built a brand new technological platform by integrating and innovating a variety of technologies such as 210mm large size silicon wafers, multi-busbars, 1/3 cut technology, non-destructive cutting, and high-density packaging, providing us with a glimpse into the future developmental direction while keeping us excited about the possibilities,” said Trina Solar’s vice general manager and EVP, Yin Rongfang.
And he said that the company expected the module’s power output to top 600W in the not-too-distant future, with improvements to its design and manufacture.
“With the development and improvement of the industry chain, especially the improvement in glass supply capacity, adding another column of cells to the existing five-column layout design can increase the Vertex module’s power output to more than 600W,” Yin said.
“Furthermore, with PERC+ cell conversion efficiency anticipated to surpass 24%, combined with other factors such as the optimisation in module design, improvements in load capacity as well as downstream installation, the Vertex modules’ power output will continue to increase.
“This provides the direction and path for the iterative development of PV modules, which will further drive the continuous decrease in the BOS and LCOE of PV systems,” he said.
When the panels will hit the Australian market is unclear. As reported last month, the Trina has started taking orders for its Duomax V and Tallmax V modules, which are set to arrive in Australia later this year.
The new solar panels also boast a module efficiency of up to 21 per cent, and Trina has claimed they could cut the cost of large-scale solar generation by up to 4 per cent.
The higher power rating comes from the incorporation of 210mm diameter silicon cells, Trina says, whose larger size provide a greater area for active light capture, resulting in higher current output.
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Sophie is editor of One Step Off The Grid and editor of its sister site, Renew Economy. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.
