Yingli to power largest bifacial PV plant in Europe
Yingli Solar has announced that Tempress Systems B.V. part of the Amtech Group has begun to construct the Europe's largest bifacial PV plant with a capacity of close to 400 kilowatt (KW). The project is located next to the headquarters of Tempress in Vaassen in the Netherlands and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2017. It is expected that the annual energy production of the project will exceed 400 MWh.
The project will contain 1,428 Yingli's PANDA Bifacial modules with a nominal peak power ranging from 275 Watt to 280 Watt each. PANDA Bifacial module contains n-type crystalline silicon solar cells based on the n-PERT technology jointly developed by Yingli, Tempress Systems and ECN, which can generate power not only from the front side, but also from the rear side by making use of the reflected photons that hit the module on the back side*. Therefore, the power yield of the PANDA Bifacial module can be increased by up to 30% compared to a monofacial standard module. In addition, the n-type crystalline silicon solar cells used by the PANDA Bifacial module are more sensitive for low light conditions than regular p-type cells.
The PANDA Bifacial module is comprised of two layers of 2.5 mm thick tempered glass, which replace the conventional back sheet and glass structure. It also bears a 30-year-linear warranty exceeding the life time of standard modules. The PANDA Bifacial module has been independently tested for harsh environmental conditions such as exposure to salt mist, ammonia and known PID risk factors.
The project has been designed by Schulz Systemtechnik BV who will also do the installation. The modules will be mounted on a fixed rack specially designed for bifacial modules to optimize the rear side performance and are produced by Benz Alusysteme GmbH. Each module will be equipped with micro inverters from APsystems to ensure optimal energy generation and monitor the performance of each module. This project was granted with a SDE+ subsidy from the Dutch ministry of Economic Affairs to encourage the production of renewable energy in the Netherlands.
"We are proud to be the first in Europe to install a bifacial PV plant of such a large size", said Dr. Albert Hasper, General Manager of Tempress. "Besides electricity generation, this plant will also be used as a showcase to prove the benefits of using bifacial module technology."
"We are glad to receive substantial orders for our PANDA Bifacial module, which was recently introduced during the SNEC exhibition in Shanghai, May 2016 and has been improved through our continuously technology innovation," said Dr. Dengyuan Song, Chief Technology Officer of Yingli. "Tempress and ECN are our strategic partners for many years and this innovative product is a result of this long-term collaboration."
*Depending on the environmental condition of installation.
