Utility & C&I is yet another application blend that module makers are preferring to label their products under. Indeed, it is one of the most popular applications, at least according in our TaiyangNews Advanced Solar Module Technologies 2021 Report. Out of the 5 applications covered in the report, Utility & C&I got the fatty representation with 51 products. In fact, the this title covers the most predominant sector of PV, which is utility. And C&I covers a wide variety of modules. However, the majority of the modules listed here follow the trend of our “utility” listing (see Powerful Is Preferred For Utility Scale PV), meaning larger module formats.
Monocrystalline is of course the dominant wafer type, while there is also a small representation from the high-end n-type stream. Jinergy, Hevel and REC are the companies that are offering HJT modules in a 72-cell configuration, while Jinergy is the only HJT supplier that has scaled up its cell technology to M6, the largest in HJT so far. Thus its module tops in terms of power with 465 W. REC, still at an M4 size, has a 450 W panel on offer. Hevel’s commercial HJT products are still based on the M2+ (157.35 mm) format, and the specialty of this module is that it employs ECA for interconnection. Within the p-type, the largest wafer size is 210 mm, and Risen, Trina and Maxeon are the companies that are offering products based on this largest commercially available wafer format. The Titan series from Risen, built with 60 cells and a combination of MBB and half cells, has the highest power rating of 605 W, and a 600 W bifacial variant of the same model is also offered by the company. 55 and 50-cell equivalents are the other cell configuration products listed here, while Maxeon’s shingled module has an atypical cell count of 57. Within the 182 mm category, all follow the 72-cell equivalent configuration, and the key advocates of this wafer size, such as JA Solar and JinkoSolar, are listing their products here. While LONGi is at the forefront of M10 otherwise, its products are listed under the utility-only application. The bifacial and monofacial variants of half cell and MBB modules from JA Solar, one model from JinkoSolar as well as Jinergy  have the same power rating of 550 W.

Largest representation: The utility and C&I segment covers a wide application variety from few kW to multi-MW systems – and consequently has the highest number of module products for all segments.

Additionally, JinkoSolar’s Tiger Pro series features Tiling Ribbon technology, eliminating the cell spacing. The bifacial variant of the series with a power rating of 545 W is offered with transparent backsheet that comes with a 30-year power warranty. The 168 mm wafer size is not so common and is only promoted by JA Solar with one 470 W module series on offer. All the models listed under the 166 mm wafer size are offered in a 72-cell equivalent layout, also mostly true with the G1 format, but a few companies are also offering modules built with 78-cell equivalent configuration for higher power. Maxeon’s Performance series, based on shingling technology, uses 93 and 80 cells for two of its models, numbers which are quite uncommon, are also based on G1 format. The multicrystalline segment has sole representation from CSI with four models – one with M6 wafer size and three 157 mm modules. The company is also offering one more 157 mm product, but in the monocrystalline stream. Similar to the product group listed under the utility section, bifacial is the most dominant technology variant in addition to the base criterion of combination of MBB and half cell. The Vertex series from Trina is the only product series that is employing 3-cut cells.
The text is an excerpt from the TaiyangNews Advanced Solar Module Technologies 2021 report. For more details on advanced solar modules and their applications in various segments, please download our TaiyangNews report on Advanced Solar Module Technologies 2021, here.
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