Norwegian solar panel manufacturer REC Group has confirmed it will kick off production of its Alpha 72 Series in May. The new products will build upon the launch of the company’s 60-cell Alpha solar panel last year.
The high-efficiency, half-cut mono, n-type heterojunction (HJT) module is being billed as the world’s highest-powered 72-cell solar panel. The new module series has a reported power output of up to 450 Wp and conversion efficiency of 21.3%. It has a reported power density of 213 W/m², providing 20% more power than conventional panels with the same footprint, according to its manufacturer.
The REC Alpha 72 Series is described as well suited to commercial and industrial rooftops and ground-mounted installations with space restrictions. Weighing a reported 23.5 kg, the Alpha 72 Series is also said to offer one of the thinnest frames in the market, at 30mm.
One step beyond
The Alpha module series was launched at Intersolar in Munich last year, where pv magazine interviewed REC vice-president for Europe, Middle East and Africa sales, Ivano Zanni. He described the Alpha Series as the next step beyond the company’s monocrystalline product and the n-type mono module. The launch of the Alpha Series followed that of the N-Peak REC n-type mono panel and the TwinPeak 2 Mono product.
The 60-cell Alpha panel has a reported power output of 380 W. That, the manufacturer claims, translates into power density of 217 W/m², providing 20% more power than conventional panels with the same footprint. The 60-cell module has a claimed efficiency of 21.7% – and 21.4% in the black version – with an output of up to 375 W. “The module offers the best power density you can get, an important fact for rooftops especially, where there are limited square meters,” said Zanni in May.
Production line
Alpha Series panels are backed by REC’s 25-year product warranty – on installations by an REC Solar professional, otherwise 20 years – and a 25-year power output warranty which guarantees 92% of nameplate power performance after that period of time.
The manufacturer started mass production of the Alpha Series in Singapore in October. REC said it invested $150 million in the 600 MW production line which took its annual panel manufacturing capacity to 1.8 GW. “It is a bold move jumping to HJT and it is also very bold to do 600 MW in one shot – but being bold and innovative is in REC’s DNA,” said chief technology officer Shankar G Sridhara.
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