The new panel, which was launched at REC’s annual partner event in Munich, will be rated up to 275 watt peak (Wp) resulting in a 17 percent panel efficiency. It will be targeted at rooftops in the growing residential, commercial and industrial markets.
The panel is based on an innovative design that provides more power output per square metre. It features 120 half-cut multicrystalline cells, four bus bars, passivated emitter rear cell (PERC) technology and a split junction box. These technologies enhance power output by around 10 Wp per panel. The TwinPeak series is also 100 percent free from potential induced degradation, in line with all REC’s products. This avoids power losses even in the harshest conditions and environments with regard to high temperatures and humidity. Production and initial shipments of the series will begin in the first quarter of 2015.
Splitting the junction box into three separate units has enabled REC to construct a ground-breaking new layout for the series while also reducing heat build-up and bolstering panel reliability. Furthermore, the half-cut cells – which are manufactured by laser cutting standard-sized cells in half – results in a reduction of resistive losses and a higher fill factor. The PERC architecture improves the light absorption of the cell, boosting overall performance and the addition of a fourth bus bar increases the flow of current, thereby increasing the panel’s efficiency and reliability.
“The new REC TwinPeak Series represents the latest example of our drive to continuously improve our technology and product offering” said Cemil Seber, Director Product Marketing and Global Expansion of REC. “Our new product offers a cutting-edge solution on a polysilicon platform that can strongly compete with monocrystalline solar panels on efficiency and performance, which are essential to the rooftop solar markets.”
Market research groups are expecting robust growth for the residential, commercial, and industrial segments of the solar market in several key regions worldwide. Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) for instance has recently forecasted that more than 1 terawatt of rooftop solar capacity will be added by 2030, mostly in Europe and the U.S. In 2014, GTM Research predicted strong double-digit growth for both the US residential and commercial segments. REC has noted surging demand in the commercial rooftop sector in the UK and Germany as well as in some Asian countries such as Singapore, due to increasing electricity prices and continuously improving solar system economics. In Germany particularly, the company sees notable potential for commercial self-consumption installations.
REC will be exhibiting the TwinPeak series and Peak Energy series panels at Solar Energy UK in Birmingham, October 14-16 (BPVA booth I48) and also at the Solar Power International exhibition in Las Vegas, October 21-23, Booth 357.
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