Eyeing the residential and commercial rooftop solar space in the European marketplace, Chinese solar PV manufacturer Trina Solar Co., Ltd. has launched its new module for these segments with up to 405W power output. It is part of the company's Vertex module series and is branded as Vertex S and was first launched in Europe, where the rooftop segment is very strong compared to the overall market.
The new module uses 40 cells with edge length of 210 mm, which are are cut into 3 pieces using non-non-destructive cutting, meaning 120 cells strips are used but build this module. The other important technology attributes are multi-busbar interconnection and high density packing in 5-string configuration.
Its 405 W output is an increase of up to 60W or 17% over previous product generations with module efficiency increasing by 1% to 21.1%. The Chinese manufacturer is offering a power warranty of 25 years and a high product workmanship warranty of 15 years for this product. Vertex S has dimensions of 1,754mm x 1,096mm and weighs 21 kg, which is only little more than their 370W and 20.3% efficient module product based on 166 mm wafer sizes, measuring 1,763 x 1,038mm and weighing 19.5kg.
Trina says Vertex S will be available in 3 versions with a standard silver frame or black frame for TSM-DE09, and it plans to also offer a full black version. It will be compatible with most inverter brands including SolarEdge, Huawei, GoodWe, Solax Power, SMA, and Trina's own brand.
During the launch, Trina also shared its roadmap for production capacity of Vertex S series during the launch event. It plans to begin mass production of Vertex S in January 2021 aiming to roll out 5 GW in 2021, scaling it up to 10 GW annually in 2022 and eventually 15 GW in 2023.
By the end of 2020, it aims to have 22 GW of ultra high power module production capacity comprising 10 GW for Vertex (see Trina Solar's Profit And Revenue Up In Q3/2020). It plans to scale up its overall module manufacturing capacity by the end of 2021 to 50 GW.
"This module is the solar industry's most powerful product in the former 60-cell range. We enrich the rooftop segment with the highly successful 210mm technology, of which we have already sold more than 2GW to utility-scale customers since its launch less than six months ago," said Gonzalo de la Viña, Head of Module Business Europe at Trina Solar, during the product's European launch on October 28, 2020.
Trina started mass production of 550W Vertex modules in September 2020 (see China PV News Snippets: Trina, Tongwei, Yingli, Jiayu). During TaiyangNews virtual conference in July 2020 on 500W+ modules, Trina Solar discussed the Vertex series at length (see TaiyangNews 500W+ Conference: Trina Solar).