BYD unveils new agrivoltaics module

From pv magazine Brazil

Chinese battery and solar module manufacturer BYD has recently developed a bifacial photovoltaic panel for agrivoltaics, a company spokesperson has told pv mazagine.

The company developed the new “Bem-te-vi” panel at the BYD module factory located in Campinas, near Sao Paulo, Brazil. It has a power output of 340 W to 355 W and a 16.33% power conversion efficiency. It uses 36 half-cut, 23%-efficient monocrystalline PERC cells and features a multi-busbar architecture.

BYD energy spokesperson, Edson Pozzonbon, told pv magazine that the panel also features a transparent backsheet. “The panels can form greenhouses or enclosures, optimising the use of space and allowing the passage of light to the crops,” he said.

BYD will deploy these new panels at a 100 kW agrivoltaic array at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) in Brazil.

Pozzonbon said commercially the panels will be offered as an “integrated energy solution” alongside inverters, battery storage systems and electric trucks. The sale of the combination package aims to fix the issue of Frankenstein solar systems, he said, which is a “problem” in Brazil. This is when a solar arrangement utilises different companies’ products and can lead to issues “establishing a connection between different equipment,” Pozzonbon said.

The BYD factory in Campinas reopened in 2022. It was upgraded with production equipment for modules based on multi-busbar, half-cell, and 1/3 cut cells. It has now an annual capacity of 500 MW and produces panels with power outputs ranging from 450 W to 670 W.

The factory opened in 2017 with an annual capacity of 200 MW, with the support of Apex-Brasil, the Brazilian government’s trade and investment promotion agency. Solar projects that feature Brazilian-made components can obtain financing from the Brazilian Development Bank and Banco do Nordeste.