Time and again, we have heard great power brings great responsibilities – and that doesn’t restrict to just individual power. In today’s age, handling power and energy responsibly is a priority for the well-being of the earth. Climate change is responsible for the most observable, concerning effects on earth, from shrinking of glaciers, to ice in rivers and shifts in flora and fauna. The increased global electricity and power demands, and the resulting emissions, are a major cause of this shift.
This climate change also has a compounded, reciprocal effect on power generation itself. Factors like global warming amounting to increasing amounts of heat make it difficult to keep power plants cool, and in turn, risk heavy downtimes. Amid such a situation, global photovoltaic production is significantly increasing, demanding prudence toward ensuring minimum climate-hazardous steps involved in the production. The answer – renewable power utilizing photovoltaic (PV) infrastructure.
The growing significance of PV energy
The government is setting carbon-neutral targets to reduce climate change. As a result, 86% of global electricity generation by 2050 will be through renewable energy, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). A 10-fold increase in photovoltaic power generation in comparison to 2016 will be attained, which sums up to around 25% of global power generation. A total cumulative global PV capacity is expected to reach 8,519 GW in 2050. In other words, the world's energy structure is going to shift towards high percentage of renewable sources, and PV power generation is going to become one of the world's most dominant sources of electric power in the future, with sustainability in focus.
Being the second-largest source of renewable energy after wind today, PV is set to be the future of power generation. The reduced cost of electricity production and high efficiency makes PV one of the preferred choices for energy production. This has led to increased study and innovation of PV cell designs and materials. In the future, many alternative materials apart from silicon for PV cells are being considered to make these even more cost effective and climate-friendly.
Balancing the cost of PV power
Because of the decreased cost of electricity generation, the demand for PV power is growing. There has been an 87% decrease in the average levelized cost of energy (LCOE) from 2009 to 2020, according to the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Limited (BNEF). Research shows that the cost of PV power generation will continue to decrease in the coming years, leading to an era of fully affordable power. All PV companies, thus, are directing towards the continuous reduction of the LCOE.
LCOE calculation highlights that reducing the initial investment and increasing the total life-cycle power generation of PV systems are effective means to reduce the LCOE. A lower initial investment means a lower module cost, which depends on module power and efficiency improvement. Moreover, increasing the total amount of power generated means increasing the module's power generation capacity per watt, and requires the module to have a long power generation life. Therefore, the key to price parity is formulating a module with high power, efficiency, and reliability.
Trina Solar, a global leader in smart energy
Trina Solar was founded in 1997. Its headquarters is in Changzhou, China and its main business focuses on photovoltaic products, photovoltaic systems and smart energy. The company engages in PV products R&D, manufacturing and sales; PV projects development, EPC, O&M; smart micro-grid and multi-energy complementary systems development and sales, as well as energy cloud-platform operation. On June 2020, Trina Solar issued the first A-Shares on Shanghai Sci-Tech Innovation Board, becoming the first PV product, PV system and smart energy company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange Science and Technology Innovation Board, also known as the STAR MARKET.
Trina Solar has always adhered to the six strategies of Innovation, Branding, Globalization, Platformization, Intellectualization and Industry-Finance Synergy, leading development in terms of innovation level, economic benefits, product quality and environmental safety. With its outstanding technological innovation capability and leading globalization level, it has accumulated excellent brand reputation and public praise, and won numerous domestic and international awards.
Birth of Vertex Module Series
210mm PV monocrystalline silicon wafer is considered the upper limit of silicon wafers in the PV industry, and it is expected that this roadmap will persist for at least 5 to 10 years. This helps to standardize not only the sizes of PV modules but also the design of downstream PV systems. Thus, Trina Solar chose 210mm as the wafer size for the new generation of Vertex modules series.
The Vertex series by Trina Solar is home to the intelligent manufacturing of modules and the application of advanced technologies. The series features a maximum power of 670 W, with an average module efficiency of at least 21.5%. It also has a high reliability – for example, a 30-year linear power warranty, lower first-year and annual attenuation, and a high power generation capacity with excellent low irradiance performance and low-light response. It has created a benchmark in module performance.
The features of the 210 Vertex Module
Trina Solar has developed two types of Vertex modules – one with a monofacial module and the other with a bifacial module. A diversified layout design based on large 210mm wafers and a perfect combination of advanced technologies, such as multi-busbar (MBB), non- destructive cutting (NDC), and high-density encapsulation is designed by the company. The modules can deliver a power range from 410 to 670W, and are widely used in residential, commercial, and industrial rooftops and large-scale ground-mounted power plants. More value is provided to customers with the power of 40 to 90W, which is above the industry average.
Since 2019, Trina Solar has led the promotion in the research and development of 210mm modules. Trina Solar’s 210mm ultra-high power modules and system- integrated new technology platform have paved the way ahead for the PV industry. It has been the most preferred PV module solution from now to the next three to five years.
Are you also looking to explore the full power of the Vertex PV modules? Download this whitepaper to know more.
