Ontario — Canadian Solar has launched a new line of low-carbon (LC) solar modules that incorporate heterojunction (HJT) cell technology and updated wafer designs.
The company reports the modules achieve a carbon footprint of 285 kg CO₂eq/kW, which ranks among the lowest for silicon-based solar modules.
The modules, designed for utility-scale and commercial and industrial (C&I) applications, provide up to 660 watts of power with efficiencies reaching 24.4%. Deliveries began in August 2025.
The reduced carbon footprint is attributed to a series of manufacturing changes:
- Higher ingot utilization rate: a 20% improvement, cutting emissions by an estimated 30 kg CO₂ per kWp.
- Thinner wafers: reduced to 110 μm from the typical 130–135 μm, lowering silicon use and emissions by 14–19 kg CO₂ per kWp.
- Optimized HJT cell manufacturing: fewer process steps and lower operating temperatures reduce energy consumption by 14–21 kg CO₂ per kWp.
- Lower total energy consumption: overall energy use in production is about 105.62 MWh/MW, a savings of 8.8%–10.7% compared with other silicon module production methods.
Altogether, these changes shorten the carbon payback time of the modules by around 11% compared with conventional N-type silicon modules, according to the company.
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