Chinese leading PV firm Longi managed to land a substantial order for 224 MW double-glass, bifacial PERC modules, plus accompanying trackers, from the U.S. in Feb., a project scheduled for completion by the end of 2019.

Meant for application in areas with extreme environmental conditions, such as desert or saline-alkali soil, double-glass bifacial modules furnished with trackers raise power output by over 25% than common modules.

Double-glass bifacial modules boast high price-performance ratio, thanks to low attenuation and long quality-assurance period, with annual attenuation rate reaching only 0.5%, compared with 0.7% of common modules. The difference is magnified by its longer quality-assurance period, lasting 30 years, five more than 25 years of common modules. It's especially suited to areas with high reflective environment, such as snow land and sandy land, where the back side can contribute 5-30% to power output.   

Capacity trend of bifacial modules: 2018-2022, source: EnergyTrend

Double-glass bifacial modules have caught on, following the emergence of bifacial module craze, since 2018, when the former gained two percentage points in market share, to 10%, mainly for projects under "Top Runner Program." The share is expected rise further this year.

Shipment of double-glass modules by Flat Glass Group Co., Ltd. for the Chinese market, for instance, hit 12 GW in 2018, which will rise further in 2019, thanks to demands from Europe, Japan, and the U.S., according to the company's prospectus.   

Thanks to their aggressive expansion projects, ,Xinyi Solar is expected to enhance its capacity by 2,000 tons/daily, boosting market share to 33.7%, up from 31.9% in 2018, in 2019, when Flat Glass's share will also jump to 22%, up from 17.6%, thanks to new capacity of 2,000 tons/day.

(Source: EnergyTrend, first photo courtesy of Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine Flickr CC0 1.0)