Canadian Solar TOPCon Technology Review Report

DNV has completed a comprehensive technology review of the new Canadian Solar modules utilizing 182 and 210 mm TOPCon cells. The review covered the company, modules, performance, reliability, system compatibility, field data, and an Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) analysis.

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DNV has carried out a comprehensive review of the TOPBiHiKu6 and TOPBiHiKu7 modules, assessing them on the production process, performance, reliability, and the LCOE analysis.

DNV audited the entire manufacturing process of bifacial TOPBiHiKu6 and TOPBiHiKu7 modules, including the incoming materials management, processes, quality control, etc. Based on the results of the audit, DNV views the Canadian Solar quality systems in the audited factory to be leading that of other module factories in the industry and to present a low risk of module underperformance. DNV noted that TOPBiHiKu6 and TOPBiHiKu7 modules possess industry-leading module efficiencies of up to 22.6% and a Pmax (Nominal Max. Power) temperature coefficient of -0.29%/℃, indicating that the expected field performance of these modules is better than that of typical commercial modules.

DNV reviewed Canadian Solar’s reliability assurance program (including on-going reliability testing), component-level testing for service life, and mechanical testing. These testing include but not limited to thermal cycling with 600 cycles, damp heat with 2,000 hours, PID with 192 hours, showing a power degradation of below 2%.

Additionally, LCOE modelling suggests that in a utility model, the TopBiHiKu6 and TopBiHiKu7 modules provide a 2.5% and a 3.2% reduction in LCOE, respectively, over PERC modules using 144 half-cut cells of 182 mm width.

With module efficiencies of up to 22.6%, industry-leading manufacturing quality, and exceptional performance and durability testing results, DNV recommends a useful life assumption of 35 to 45 years in financial modeling for projects using Canadian Solar TopBiHiKu6 or TopBiHiKu7 modules.

Read Canadian Solar's news release ‘Canadian Solar Receives DNV Endorsement for Cutting-Edge TOPCon Modules: Enhancing Reliability and Lowering LCOE’.