SunPower to launch 625 W shingled module

U.S.-based SunPower, which is majority owned by French energy giant Total, is planning to launch a new shingled module series with 625 W of power output.
Group spinoff Maxeon Solar Technologies will commercialize the Performance 5 line in the fourth quarter. The high-efficiency, bifacial mono-PERC solar panels will be made with large format eight-inch G12 wafers and will have an efficiency of 21.2%.
“Our release of the new SunPower Performance 5 panels comes along with a renewed commitment to large-scale installations supported by significant manufacturing capacity scale-up of shingled cell panel technology by our Huansheng Photovoltaic (HSPV) joint venture in China,” SunPower said.
Maxeon Solar Technologies is also owned by Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor, which was recently acquired by TCL , one of China’s biggest electronics manufacturers. SunPower’ss HSPV joint venture with Zhonghuan will increase production capacity at its three factories in China from around 2 GW to 8 GW by 2021. The first of the three manufacturing facilities will be fully ramped up by the end of this year.
SunPower announced plans to spin off its manufacturing business into a new company last November. It also recently decided to sell its solar O&M business to Canadian mid-market private equity firm Clairvest Group for an undisclosed sum.