Low Representation Of >21.7% To 22% Efficiency Band In TOP SOLAR MODULES

Despite being a transitional range, this band has seen its share decline from 9% to 4% over 2 years, with limited product entries

Nothing Really New: The >21.7% to 22% efficiency band, with 2 products and a 4% share, saw no changes throughout 2024. Even in 2023, the number of products ranged between 3 and 1, indicating no major activity. (Source: TaiyangNews)

Published on:

Jan 10, 2025, 12:00 pm

Key Takeaways

The >21.7%-22% efficiency band in the TaiyangNews TOP SOLAR MODULES listing decreased from 9% in early 2023 to just 4% by 2024-end, with only 2 products representing this range throughout 2024
Meyer Burger and Jinergy were the only 2 companies with products in this band by the end of 2024
The band struggles to retain products, as most PERC modules start below this level, while advanced technologies like TOPCon and HJT quickly surpass it

The TaiyangNews TOP SOLAR MODULES Analysis Report 2024 categorized module efficiency into 4 distinct bands: >22.5%, 22%–22.5%, >21.7%–22%, and 21.5%–21.7%. Our previous articles focused on the first 2 bands. This article explores the details of the 3^rd efficiency band: >21.7% to 22% (see Growth of >22.5% Efficiency Band In TOP SOLAR MODULES).

This efficiency band is the least represented in the TOP SOLAR MODULES listing, with its share also decreasing from 9% to 4% over the last 2 years. In fact, most of this dip was accounted for in 2023, with the band represented by only 2 products, helping it maintain a share of 4% all through 2024. In 2023, the share was as high as 9% at the start of the year when it housed 3 products but declined to 5% with 1 product leaving the band in April, and further down to 3% and 2% during June and August when only 1 product represented this band (see Efficiency Band >22% to 22.5%: A Gateway For Advanced Solar Technologies).

A Niche Band: With the starting efficiencies of most of the advanced technologies improving to more than 22%, the >21.7 - 22% efficiency band has the lowest activity and representation. (Source: TaiyangNews)

The addition of another product in September increased the total to 2 and their share to 4% for the rest of the year. The low representation here is mainly because the entry efficiency is high for PERC and often low for advanced technologies, especially in the long run. At the beginning of 2023, it was represented by 3 products from Trinasolar, Qcells, and Meyer Burger. Trinasolar, which entered the list in September 2022, improved its efficiency from 21.9% to 22.5% and moved to the upper band. In May 2023, Qcells, which joined in December 2022, also exited this band by improving its efficiency from 22% to 22.3%, leaving Meyer Burger as the lone contender in this efficiency class. This continued until August (See Growth of >22.5% Efficiency Band In TOP SOLAR MODULES).

Jinergy entered the list in September, improving the highest module efficiency of its HJT products from 21.68% to 21.85%, , increasing the count to 2. These 2 products remained the only representatives of this band through the end of 2023 and also in 2024.

The TaiyangNews TOP SOLAR MODULES 2024 Report summarizes the key findings from over 24 editions published during 2023 and 2024. Download the free report here.

High Efficiency Solar Modules