Larger is not always much better: JinkoSolar talks about the wafer dimension debate as well as 500W race

• Complying with the succeeding release of new high efficiency modules by JinkoSolar, JA Solar, Trina, Risen and others, the argument over wafer size has actually waned, at the very least for the moment. PV modules have as well gone into a new age including "large" products topping 500MW.

JinkoSolar's brand-new Tiger Pro currently occupies the top spot in the PV industry's effectiveness position listings. Its greatest output can rise to 580W, which is 40% higher than that of various other mainstream components in use at large nuclear power plant. This number likewise indicates a historical peak in component performance.

JinkoSolar is among the business leading the sector today and also it thinks that the next huge problem is power thickness, as well as a modification in size is not the only way of accomplishing an improvement around. Wafer dimension, according to JinkoSolar, need to not be misinterpreted as a technological spec and even a bidding criterion.

Wafer size does not matter

Dany Qian, vice president at JinkoSolar, informed PV Technology that internally, the firm had actually reflected as to whether it had in fact misguided the market by mentioning the 158mm wafer dimension of its Cheetah series of panels.

" Every person is excessively concerned regarding wafer size, which suggests little to the customer. The even more power they obtain from one panel, the much better return of investment is expected. To put it simply, module performance and also power thickness are purposeful metrics for judging how effective a specific panel is.

" Take pizza as an example, it's not that a 12" pizza is necessarily much better than an 8" one, it's more concerning how excellent the pizza tastes. For components, the only point that matters is technology. Innovation is the driving engine for leading large enhancement," Ms. Qian stated.

Having recently interviewed a variety of component makers, PV Technology has actually discovered that it is not only the leading companies that really feel rather disappointed at the ongoing dispute over wafer dimension, various other suppliers sharing the exact same feelings. Undoubtedly, continuous size enhancement is dealing with growing opposition.

Ms Qian continued, "It's everything about the mindset. Why do you believe it is reasonable to categorise products right into 166mm, 210mm and also 180mm? It does not provide you any kind of clue or indicator what power and also performance they describe, as well as what your project's engineering style will certainly be based on. For example, with JinkoSolar's optimised tiling ribbon and multi busbar process used with the Tiger Pro, this notes a chance to leap past the equivalents making use of larger wafers, of 210" in dimension, in generation performance. So the race for output and power density, instead of wafer dimension, will certainly bring some healthy and balanced competition to the market as well as make design selection easier for project layout."

It is very important to note that power efficiency does not range precisely with wafer size. The means each wafer supplier procedures can differ from one to one more, so it's finest to take them more as marketing terms used to section items rather than specific measurements of power or efficiency. For example, JinkoSolar's 580Wp Tiger Pro is anticipated to take on Trina and also Daybreak's 210" products.

" Additionally, we might reach a restriction point at which we can no more remain to make larger, however we still need more effective, more effective panels. So more focus on technology and also procedure improvement is our method to continue development," Ms.Qian proceeded.

Go back to modern technology as well as price reduction

Component outcome has gotten to 500W and also will remain to go upwards, particularly amidst the decline of global PV subsidies as well as PPAs. '500W-plus' and even 600W components will be rapidly popularised in the new years when all firms will certainly be working towards LCOE decrease.

Just last month, Abu Dhabi priced estimate the world's least expensive toll at $0.0137/ kWh, or 1.37 cents/kWh, which is equivalent to less than RMB 0.10/ kWh, for a 25-year lasting PPA.

" Costs as low as 1.37 cents are appearing, as well as for the power plant investors, bidding prices are falling so quick that what they actually require is a high efficiency item.

" Since we are heading towards parity and also the worldwide LCOE is falling swiftly, the market is dealing with better price stress because of this. If a module plant can provide extra effective items that are capable of accommodating downstream layouts, after that the price pressure can be rapidly reduced."

Chaojie Zhou, JinkoSolar's international supervisor of item administration, discussed that module result must remain to be boosted, however such rises can not always be attained by dimension enhancement. LCOE can be decreased through high power density; this is one concept leading JinkoSolar's item design as well as it is also the reason the business has actually emphasized the requirement to take full advantage of using surface.

In the future, JinkoSolar will focus on innovation and also technology upgrades. There is still area for renovation in p-type cell performance, for example, and PERC mono cells. Another future instructions for cell R&D is the assimilation of high-efficiency cell technologies, with component process optimization a crucial factor that has actually enabled JinkoSolar to prosper in such a competitive market.

JinkoSolar's Tiger Pro uses multi-busbar and tiling ribbon technology to achieve a conversion performance of 21.6%. Along with its power generation performance as well as excellent temperature level coefficient, Tiger Pro, by virtue of its high energy density, likewise provides a reduced degradation rate (2% in the initial year) and also far better open-circuit voltage. The LCOE has been dramatically decreased to increase the generation ability of a power plant.

"JinkoSolar is a component supplier, but we have always established our items with a customer and market-oriented frame of mind. Economic benefits of a task, building style, operation as well as maintenance and also intelligent production are all vital considerations for us.

From the customer perspective, when it comes to a brand-new product, the first concern is innovation, and the 2nd is whether your capability can meet his demands as well as match his projects. JinkoSolar has a supply chain covering wafer, cell and component and also we can providing at the very least 10GW of these products," included Zhou.

The Tiger Pro component is anticipated to get in automation in Q3 2020, with a prepared capability of 10GW. Deliveries are anticipated to begin in Q4 2020 with ramped production expected in 2021.