Solar Power World

  • Home
  • Top Solar Contractors
  • Articles
    • Most Recent Posts
    • News
      • Latest News Items
      • Solar tariffs
    • Featured
      • Latest Feature Stories
      • Contractor’s Corner
      • Trends in Solar
      • The Solar Explorer
  • Policy
    • Monthly Snapshots
  • Markets
    • Residential
    • Commercial
    • Community Solar
    • Utility
  • Products
    • 2021 Top Products
    • Batteries and Storage
    • Inverters
      • Global Manufacturing Locations
    • Racking and Mounting
    • Software
    • Solar Panels
      • U.S. solar panel manufacturers
      • Global Manufacturing Locations
  • Subscribe
  • Resources
    • About SPW
    • Digital Issues
    • Event Coverage
    • Podcasts
    • Product Manufacturing Locations
      • Global Inverter Manufacturing Locations
      • Global Solar Panel Manufacturing Locations
      • U.S. solar panel manufacturers
    • Solar Classrooms
    • Suppliers
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
  • Leadership
    • Vote for the 2022 Leaders!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
    • 2019 Winners
    • 2018 Winners

More solar panels are switching to bigger wafers
2021 Trends in Solar

By Kelly Pickerel | January 20, 2021

Share

While some panel manufacturers are continuing to perfect the generating capabilities of today’s solar cells, other companies have already shifted to tomorrow’s technologies. PERC designs will still be dominant, but more panels are beginning to use larger wafers to improve power output without much R&D effort.

ITRPV

Most solar panels released in the last two years used M2 (156.75-mm) wafers. But research group ITRPV predicts that the M2 wafer will disappear within five years. M6 (166-mm) and larger wafer formats will make up 70% of the multicrystalline market and 90% of the monocrystalline market by 2030.

The bigger the wafer, the more power it can generate because of its larger surface area. By removing that unnecessary whitespace between smaller cells, fully assembled modules using larger wafers are more powerful in the same module footprint.

LONGi Solar, a Chinese solar cell and module manufacturer, began using M6 wafers in its bifacial modules released in 2019. LONGi has since transitioned all its manufacturing lines to the larger wafer and is already leading the switch to even larger M10 (182-mm) wafers. As one of the main cell suppliers to the industry, other panel assemblers are dependent on whatever LONGi makes.

Trina Solar’s Vertex module

Trina Solar, which is supplied by Chinese cell manufacturer Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor (TZS), took a giant leap to G12 (210-mm) wafers and began releasing models under the Vertex brand name in 2020. While M6 wafers can mostly continue to be used in traditionally sized 60- and 72-cell panel frames, even larger M10 and G12 wafers lend to larger-format modules most suitable for utility-scale solar projects.

Those two camps — LONGi with M10 and TZS with G12 wafers — will likely split the industry into “wafer alliances,” predicted by solar and storage technical advisory Clean Energy Associates (CEA) in its 2020-released “PV Supplier Market Intelligence Program Report.” Depending which direction each manufacturer goes, production equipment will need to be adapted to the differing sizes.

“We expect to see multiple wafer sizes on the market for some time, as suppliers seek new ways to reduce cost, increase value for buyers and differentiate their products,” said Paul Wormser, VP of technology for CEA, in a press release. “This unprecedented innovation simultaneously brings uncertainty, as suppliers adopt the wafer platform, the interconnection platform and optimize the overall module.”

ITRPV says it is possible for large-format modules with M10 and G12 wafers to begin mass production in 2024 for utility-scale deployment, but rooftop projects will continue to use traditionally sized modules (likely with M6 wafers) until those wafer alliances are settled.

There are a few outliers. REC, which makes its own solar cells using heterojunction technology and focuses primarily on the rooftop segment, has transitioned out of M2 wafers into M4 (161.75-mm) but is still waiting to go larger.

“We have not yet manufactured a product with an M6 wafer, but we can and will do this if that is what our customers demand,” said Cary Hayes, president of the Americas at REC Group. “In the rooftop segment, particularly for residential installations, the benefits [of large-format modules] are less clear. If the benefits of installing larger modules on residential rooftops were as clear as they are in the utility segment, we probably would have already seen a shift to 72-cell modules in this market. We haven’t, which tells you that a larger-sized module is not the holy grail for residential installers.”

About The Author

Kelly Pickerel

Kelly Pickerel has over a decade of experience reporting on the U.S. solar industry and is currently editor in chief of Solar Power World.

Tell Us What You Think! Cancel reply

Related Articles Read More >

Ingeteam unveils 7.65-MW inverter power station on skid
CPS America opens new U.S. headquarters near Dallas, Texas
Solar FlexRack trackers used in 15-MW Arizona community solar project
Behind-the-meter hardware SolShare allows for on-site solar sharing at apartment complexes

SPW Digital Editions

Solar Power World Digital EditionBrowse the current issue and archived issues of Solar Power World in an easy-to-use, high-quality format. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading solar construction magazine today.

Contractor's Corner Podcast

June 27, 2022
Contractor's Corner: Got Electric
See More >

Solar Policy Snapshot

Solar policy differs across state lines and regions. Click to see our monthly roundup of recent legislation and research throughout the country.

Read More >

Solar Power World
  • Top Solar Contractors
  • Solar Articles
  • Windpower Engineering & Development
  • Battery Power Tips
  • Top Products
  • Leadership
  • About/Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising
  • WTWH Media

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Solar Power World

  • Home
  • Top Solar Contractors
  • Articles
    • Most Recent Posts
    • News
      • Latest News Items
      • Solar tariffs
    • Featured
      • Latest Feature Stories
      • Contractor’s Corner
      • Trends in Solar
      • The Solar Explorer
  • Policy
    • Monthly Snapshots
  • Markets
    • Residential
    • Commercial
    • Community Solar
    • Utility
  • Products
    • 2021 Top Products
    • Batteries and Storage
    • Inverters
      • Global Manufacturing Locations
    • Racking and Mounting
    • Software
    • Solar Panels
      • U.S. solar panel manufacturers
      • Global Manufacturing Locations
  • Subscribe
  • Resources
    • About SPW
    • Digital Issues
    • Event Coverage
    • Podcasts
    • Product Manufacturing Locations
      • Global Inverter Manufacturing Locations
      • Global Solar Panel Manufacturing Locations
      • U.S. solar panel manufacturers
    • Solar Classrooms
    • Suppliers
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
  • Leadership
    • Vote for the 2022 Leaders!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
    • 2019 Winners
    • 2018 Winners