JinkoSolar has announced a collaboration with the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in a landmark deal to deliver its high efficiency Tiger Neo bifacial modules for a 200 MW solar farm, the first solar-powered oilfield to be built by China’s oil giant. The plant, located in Yumen, marks the beginning of a new, greener era for the oil and gas sector.
The deal to build the megawatt scale solar farm to provide power for CNPC’s oil production activities has opened up a huge potential market for bifacial modules, particularly N-type Topcon modules, which maximize yield from their rear side due to a high bifacial factor of 85% and above.
Most oil fields are located in sandy soil conditions, implying a high ground albedo which makes bifacial modules particularly effective, high albedo increasing the effective irradiation intensity on the module’s rear side. The bifacial factor in N-type Topcon technology increases power generation, resulting in a substantial increase in energy produced.
While solar for oil is a win-win in terms of reducing emissions and the cost of producing oil, modules serving oilfields need to be able to perform in remote locations and under challenging environmental and weather conditions, with projects also needing to satisfy oilfield safety standards. High power modules (up to 600W) are required for overall efficiency, but current needs to be low to comply with safety considerations. The modules also need to be durable, incorporating anti-salt and anti-corrosion dual glass encapsulation, yet light enough to facilitate easy installation.
“Looking into the future, as N-type Topcon bifacial modules continue to scale up in production and the engineering and build processes become more efficient, costs will continue to fall, making an N-type solution a strong choice for any commercial venture, including that of helping to create a greener future for oil production,” commented Dany Qian, VP at JinkoSolar.