Canadian Solar joins 500W+ solar module club

Chinese-Canadian solar manufacturing giant Canadian Solar have unveiled a new “super-high power” range of 500W+ solar panels, ensuring the company remains relevant and competitive with its peers, many of which have similarly released 500W+ ranges in recent months.

The move comes in the wake of many of its big-name competitors launching their own new 500-watt-plus solar panels, including Risen Energy^[1], Trina Solar^[2], JA Solar^[3]l, and JinkoSolar^[4].

Canadian Solar’s new range of “super-high power Series 5 and Series 6 PV modules” were announced on July 1 to celebrate Canada Day, and will join the company’s existing HiKu, BiHiKu, and HiDM portfolios, “expanding the range of high-power, high-efficiency monofacial and bifacial solar modules.”

“These new products incorporate Canadian Solar’s proprietary and record-breaking cell technology, as well as the latest cutting-edge module designs, reflecting Canadian Solar’s commitment to excellence, research and development of competitive and clean solar solutions,” the company said in a press release.

Canadian Solar will expand all three of its Series 5 portfolios – the HiKu5, BiHiKu5, and HiDM5. While the HiDM5 will now only be available in power classes of up to 405W – offering a 37% higher rooftop system capacity and 47% higher IRR from lowsystem costs – both the HiKu5 and BiHiKu5 will offer power classes of up to 500W available in both monocrystalline and polycrystalline cells.

The company touted the fact that the light- and elevated temperature-induced degradation (LeTID) of its HiKu5 is 50% below the industry standard and that a combination of improved module efficiency, high power classes, and leading PV module technology can lower the Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCoE) by up to 4%.

Similarly, both its Series 6 portfolios – the HiKu6 and BiHiKu6 – will now offer “super-high power classes” of up to 590W and module efficiency of up to 21.3% and, relative to standard 405W monocrystalline modules, the HiKu6 range of modules generate up to 2.7% higher energy yield over the lifetime of the module, reduce the Balance of System (BoS) cost by up to 5.6%, and reduce the LCoE by up to 4.5%.

“Since I founded the Company in Canada 19 years ago, I am proud that Canadian Solar has become a leader in the development and deployment of the latest solar technologies,” said Dr. Shawn Qu, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar^[5]. “As reflected in today’s announcement, our commitment is to develop leading technology that will deliver more solar energy more cost-effectively.

“Our HiKu, BiHiKu and HiDM product ranges have always been at the forefront of PV module technology, and the launch of the new Series 5 and Series 6 modules is another important achievement as we continue to provide powerful, efficient and high-quality solar solutions.”

Click here to read original article