The two new designs REC will be presenting at the event are a design with half-cut cells and the REC Peak Energy next generation concept. The new developments will be on display alongside the established REC Peak Energy Series and company executives will be on hand in West Hall 1 (Booth P1-063) to discuss insights on the Japanese market.
The main visual difference of REC’s half-cut concept is that the standard cell size is cut in half. The benefits of the new design include a higher fill factor and higher efficiencies resulting in better energy yields, especially with high irradiance. Panels with a higher fill factor also have a lower resistance and further advances in the technology include the use of four bus bar cells which bring an increase in current by lowering resistance.
A backside passivation technology helps to increase energy yield by giving light a second chance to be converted into current. Splitting the junction box into three smaller parts has enabled the company to increase the panel power output due to an optimized layout. Heat build-up behind the box is reduced and the half-cut design also achieves a significantly better performance under certain shading conditions compared to a standard panel.
The new next generation REC Peak Energy Series panel also on display works to raise panel efficiency by featuring a number of technology evolutions. Alongside the split junction box and four bus bar cells, these include a white encapsulate layer behind the cells which ensures that more light is captured for electricity generation.
“Japan is consistently one of the world's largest markets for solar power installations, and continues to be a key market for REC” said Go Sekiguchi, Representative Director for REC in Japan. “We are valued as a premium supplier in the quality-conscious Japanese market. Customer surveys consistently tell us that the two most important decision criteria for solar panels are quality and reliability, ahead of price. Our exceptionally low product claims rate confirms REC's quality. To put this in perspective: out of a total of three million panels shipped last year, less than 300 were returned to REC as defective.”
PV Japan is a major trade show for the Japanese solar industry, attracting many international exhibitors and visitors and demonstrating the importance of the Japanese market to the worldwide solar industry. Although at present the market is experiencing a slight slowdown in growth rates of residential installations, due to the 11 percent cut to feed-in tariffs announced earlier this year, demand continues to increase in the commercial segment, particularly for installations between 10 and 50 kW. Installed capacity is expected to grow 4.5 to 5.5 GW in 2014 from 2.5 to 3 GW last year. A large number of suitable rooftops combined with feed-in tariffs make these installations a financially appealing option.
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