Trina Solar leads industry standardization with 'golden size' modules for all settings

CHANGZHOU, China, Aug. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading photovoltaic module manufacturers including Trina Solar presented their 210R products at a semi-annual meeting of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association in mid-July.

Earlier nine companies agreed on standardizing the dimensions of rectangular silicon wafer modules, based on Trina Solar's 210R modules, which pushes the industry one step further toward universal adoption of 210mm technology and its modules.

Trina Solar's products featuring "golden size" include small, medium and large-format modules, covering the entire power range of 400W-500W-600W+. The optimization of formats has delivered improvements in efficiency and value in a broad range of settings, including large power plants and for commercial, industrial and residential use.

Utility-scale settings: 210mm large-format module dimensions, the first being standardized to 2384/2172x1303mm in 2021, 600W+ modules deliver maximized value

In terms of large-format modules, Trina Solar has put on the market Vertex 670W and Vertex N 700W modules based on its advanced 210mm technology platform, enabling the industry to enter the PV 6.0 era and embrace 700W+.

Based on 210mm wafers, the dimensions of 2172x1303mm modules with 60 cells and 2384x1303mm modules with 66 cells were the first to be standardized in 2021. Leading module manufacturers agreed on dimensions and mounting hole locations, with Trina Solar leading the way, resulting in the group standard T/CPIA0003-2022.

600W+ modules have become standard in power station projects. According to media reports, nearly 90% of the 600W+ modules exhibited at this year's SNEC in Shanghai used 210, 182 and rectangular cells, with the 210 accounting for 60% of the total.

Trina Solar continues to unlock customer value and is steadily moving toward 700W+ era. Vertex N 700W+ modules, renowned for their LCOE performance for ground-mounted power stations, are expected to go into mass-production next year.

Commercial and industrial settings: 210R medium-format modules dimensions come to standardization of 2384x1134mm

In April Trina Solar took the lead in launching its 210R modules. This series is the first of what are being called golden size modules in the medium 2384x1134mm format. Not only is their performance dramatically improved, but they are also designed to make optimum use of space in shipping containers. The modules of this size allow for container space use of 98.5%, the highest level available.

The Vertex N 605W modules, developed using advanced n-type i-TOPCon cell technology, came onto the market in November. The dimensions of this series of module are 2384x1134mm, with power 30W higher than that of other products on the market. This superior dimensional design allows perfect utilization of the tracker length. Compared with conventional n-type modules with 72 cells, the installed capacity on a single row of trackers is increased by 13%. Compared with the previous generation of medium-format products, Vertex n-type 605W modules cut BOS by 1.8%~4.5%, making them the absolutely ideal for trackers. By the first quarter of this year the volume of shipments of 2384x1134mm (including 2384x1096mm) modules had reached 30GW. Cumulative shipments are expected to reach 50GW by the end of this year.

The concept of rectangular wafer cells is now fully accepted in the market, culminating in leading industry players reaching consensus in early July on the standard dimensions of the medium-format modules.

Residential settings: 2m² small-format (1762x1134mm) featuring high efficiency and state-of-the-art design

Vertex S modules have been developed based on extensive research and targeted settings designs. They are characterized by how small they are and how much power they produce, perfect for the needs of customers for distributed projects wherever they are.

The specifications of the new generation of Vertex S modules, developed with 210R rectangular wafer technology, are up to 450W, with dimensions of 1762x1134mm and just 1.998m², with power increasing by 10~15W to 450W, achieving the highest power within 2 m², with efficiency of 22.5% and weighing just 21kg. Vertex S+ not only meets the requirements of highly stringent German building safety regulations regarding upper size limit, but also the weight requirement of "less than 50 pounds (~23kg) for a single person to carry".

At the SNEC in Shanghai and the Intersolar Europe exhibition held recently in Germany, leading manufacturers showed modules of the same size as the Vertex S modules. 1762x1134mm has thus become the golden size of small formats. 

Starting with the standardization of 210mm module sizes, reducing manufacturing cost and LCOE with 210mm high-power modules has become a trend in the PV industry. Trina Solar has laid a solid foundation for the standardization of module sizes by pursuing R&D innovation, being transparent with its technology and building an ecosystem with other leading players.

Over past two years, the 210mm golden size for small, medium and large formats has been a common choice of the whole industry.

In turn, size standardization is expected to benefit the entire industry chain. On the one hand, the needs of downstream customers for various PV settings will be fully met and customer value will be maximized. On the other hand, this can provide a practical way of maximizing the value of the upstream and midstream of the industry chain and reduce the cost of the entire industry chain.

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