The German-based PV Magazine Group, in cooperation with CEA in the United States and GSolar in China, has published the latest results of its energy yield test and LONGi modules were ranked top in the outdoor category.
PV Magazine randomly selected test modules from 2000 mass-produced modules to participate in outdoor testing. Modules were connected to a string inverter and a Huawei module-level power optimizer for energy yield monitoring.
Through the above procedure, various uncertainties of general empirical power plants were eliminated, and the energy yield capacity of the modules was accurately reflected to provide a reference for global investors in power plants.
The PV Magazine Module Test provides a unified test platform for various photovoltaic manufacturers and module types. So far, the test has gathered data on a variety of modules, including conventional monocrystalline and polycrystalline, monocrystalline PERC monofacial, bifacial and N-type bifacial modules. From June 2018 to May 2020, LONGi's monofacial, bifacial and bifacial half-cell PERC modules were tested successively and demonstrated excellent energy yield capabilities.
LONGi's monofacial PERC module (LR6-60PE) was the first to be tested. With the continual addition of new modules for testing over the past two years, the specific energy yield of this module remained top among all monofacial modules tested. The average annual energy yield results (2018.06-2020.05) of the nine monofacial modules that took part in testing are shown in Figure 1. The yield of LONGi's monofacial PERC module (LR6-60PE) was 1192kWh/kWp (the outdoor test field located in Xi'an), 3.4% higher than that of the polycrystalline module of Company F and 2.1% higher than that of the PERC module Sample 2 purchased by PV Magazine on the market. In addition, it can be seen that the energy yield performance of monocrystalline PERC modules from different manufacturers is very different, some PERC modules having a lower energy yield than polycrystalline equivalents.
LONGi’s bifacial PERC module (LR6-60BP) joined the energy yield test in November 2018, and its energy yield also ranked first in the bifacial module category, 2.6% higher than the bifacial PERC module of Company A and 3.8% higher than the N-type bifacial PERT module. Compared with the monofacial PERC module, LONGi’s bifacial PERC module exhibited a significant backside energy yield gain (the ground surface was replaced with gravel from artificial turf in September 2019).
With the full adoption of half-cell technology in LONGi's module production, its bifacial half-cell PERC module (LR6-72HBD) also joined the testing in September 2019. According to previous research results from LONGi and the China Electrical Institute (CEI) in a whitepaper (“Empirical data from the China Electric Institute (CEI) verifies the power generation performance of LONGi’s bifacial half-cell module at its pilot project in Qionghai, Hainan”), the energy yield of a half-cell module is slightly better when irradiation is higher, and the energy yield of a full-cell module slightly better when irradiation is lower. The PV Magazine Module Test also produced similar results to those shown in Figure 3, the energy yield of the half-cell module being relatively high in the irradiated month.
The monthly energy yield data for May 2020 is shown in Figure 4. Three types of LONGi modules display obvious advantages in energy yield compared to similar equivalents, its PERC bifacial module being even higher than the N-type TOPCon module that participated in the test.
The two-year test data has fully verified the technology leadership of LONGi's previous generations of module products in terms of energy yield capability. LONGi has always focused on customer value in product development, and new photovoltaic modules have achieved comprehensive optimization in three aspects: system cost, energy yield capacity and reliability. Based on the concept of finding the most suitable module size, LONGi recently launched its new Hi-MO 5 module- an ultra-high power module designed for utility-scale power plants application - with front-side power up to 540W and efficiency exceeding 21%. The Hi-MO 5 module maintains the consistently excellent energy yield performance of LONGi’s product portfolio. LONGi also adopts “Smart Soldering” technology on Hi-MO 5, which maximizes light capture and incorporates reliably connected cells with reduced gap. Due to compatibility with existing manufacturing lines and plant design systems, LONGi’s Hi-MO 5 can deliver true value to customers in terms of system cost savings, and provide the best LCOE solution for ultra-large power plants.
