First Solar has announced that it will produce a limited production run of bifacial thin film PV modules, which it says are the first of their kind. The company ultimately plans to roll the product out commercially, following field and laboratory testing.
The Series 6 Plus bifacial module, which made its public debut at Intersolar Munich this week, is made with a transparent back contact which allows for thin film bifaciality. It also allows infrared rays to pass through the module instead of being absorbed as heat, which First Solar said can aid energy yield by lowering the operating temperature of the module.
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The module also features an anti-reflective coating – which improves energy production – and boasts a 0.3% warranted degradation rate. First Solar said that, unlike crystalline silicon bifacial modules, the Series 6 Plus does not experience losses from light induced degradation or light and elevated temperature induced degradation.
Pat Buehler, chief product officer at First Solar said: “This module combines the quality, sustainability, reliability, and long-term performance of our Series 6 Plus platform with our first increment of bifaciality. Once commercialised, we expect Series 6 Plus Bifacial to represent the first real alternative to crystalline silicon-based bifacial technology, effectively combining bifaciality with the industry’s best warranted degradation rate, CdTe thin film’s ability to deliver more energy per nameplate watt, best-in-class reliability and durability, and innovative module design.”
First Solar is the dominant US-based solar manufacturer, focusing exclusively on cadmium telluride thin film cells and panels. The technology offers advantages over traditional silicon-based modules, but until now has never been applied to a bifacial panel.
Last month, the company filed a legal complaint against fellow Ohio-based solar manufacturer Toledo Solar for falsely rebranding and selling old First Solar modules as its own. Toledo allegedly claimed that the modules in question were made in the US – and were thus eligible for tax benefits under the Inflation Reduction Act – when First Solar claims that they were in fact produced in its Malaysia factory.