The new KuPoweer High Efficiency Mono Perc 330W Panel

More power and less power loss
Better shading tolerance
Lower hotspot temperature
25 year linear power output warranty
12 year product warranty of materials and workmanship

About Canadian Solar

✓ Founded in Ontario, Canada, 2001
✓ Modules with best price performance ratio in HIS Markit’s independent PV Module customer survey 2016
✓ Industry-leading R&D and Highest Module Quality (HIS, 2016)
✓ A leading solar power solution provider
✓ Stable operation and top-3 rated bankability in solar
✓ 8 wholly-owned manufacturing subsidiaries with 6.3 GWp cell capacity and 9.81 GWp module capacity
✓ 27 GW installed so far in over 100 countries
✓ Provider of ingots, wafers, solar cells, solar panels and PV systems, with 11 GW global project pipeline

What does Tier1 mean?

The tier actually refers to the stability and bankability of the company, not directly to the equality of the panels themselves. Of course, if a company is big and stable enough to make it into Tier1 then it can afford to turn out high-quality panels and also to provide refunds or other redress something goes wrong. In Australia, the tier rankings are compiled by Bloomberg so they’re very reliable, but most tier ranking systems are broadly similar and you’ll find the same names appearing in roughly the same positions.

Canadian Solar to release HiKu Mono in Australia

Chinese-Canadian PV heavyweight, Canadian Solar, is looking to harness the power of poetry with the release of its HiKu Mono in Australia. The innovative monocrystalline module enters the market near the top of the range.

Chinese-Canadian PV heavyweight Canadian Solar announced the launch of the HiKu Monocrystalline module in the Australian market yesterday. The HiKu Mono boasts of 450 W output, perhaps bettered only by fellow Chinese panel maker Trina Solar’s recent bifacial releases, the Duomax V and the Tallmax V, each reported to have a power output of 500 W.

Of course, a 450 W Mono is nothing to be sniffed at, and with a module conversion efficiency of up to 20.37%, the HiKu Mono promises to be one of the most generative modules on the Australian market.

“The HiKu Mono is an exciting new addition to our product range in Australia,” says Haydn Fletcher, Canadian Solar Australia’s MSS Country Manager, “offering class-leading technology, exceptional power and efficiency.”

The module’s half-cell, dual-module design makes use of Canadian Solar’s Ku Module technology, providing improved reliability, better resistance to hot-spotting and an ability to maintain its temperature, a key feature as Australian temperatures continue to rise.

The half-cell manufacture allows the modules to stay up to 65℃ lower than a full-cell module. An Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) report compared hot-spotting in both half-cell modules and full-cell modules and found that 120 (HiKu has 144) series half-cut cells “exhibits reduced peak hot-spot cell temperature by 20℃.”

Hot-spotting is one of the leading causes of degradation in silicon PV modules. The hot-spot effect occurs when the temperature of a PV cell increases due to shading in the module. The ARENA report concedes a lot more testing is required.

“Commitment to R&D, and an uncompromising approach to quality control has put Canadian Solar on the forefront of advancements in Solar Technology,” continued Fletcher.

That commitment of which Fletcher speaks seems particularly attuned to the necessities of the Australian market. As mentioned above, Australian mean temperatures are increasing and heat, somewhat ironically, is the bane of solar panel efficiency (the irony being that light only comes from heat). To that end, Canadian Solar says the HiKu Mono has excellent anti-degradation performance from 500 hours of laboratory LeTID testing, with >2% power degradation after 200kWh/m² Light Induced Degradation (LID).

These relatively large panels are ideal for utility-scale and commercial and industrial (C&I) scale projects, but can also be fitted residentially. However, the HiKu will not be employed at Canadian Solar’s 110 MW Gunnedah Solar Farm, announced last week to be the source of a power purchase agreement with online shopping giant Amazon when the project is completed in 2021. At Gunnedah, Canadian Solar will utilise BiKu bifacial modules.