In a statement issued late last week, eight manufacturers joined forces to propose a series of wafer, cell and module sizes and layouts that they say should become the industry standard for 210mm modules moving forward.

Those manufacturers include Trina Solar, Risen Energy, Canadian Solar, Huansheng Photovoltaic (Jiangsu), Tongwei, Runergy, Zhonghuan Semiconductor and Wuxi Shangji.

“Through the standardisation of silicon wafers to 210mm as well as module size, the industry will achieve the best possible scale, and empower all businesses to improve production efficiency, optimise supply, and drive technological innovation,” the statement read.

The manufacturers have also claimed that in standardising now, with 210mm wafer and module manufacturing set to ramp over the coming years, the level of initial investment required will be lower, decreasing the overall cost of solar generation.

The sizes proposed include a selection of 210mm, +/- 0.25mm, as the standard size of silicon wafers for the 210 – 220mm size range under the SEMI Photovoltaic Standards, while a set of desired measurements and layouts for modules has also been put forward.

The consortium is pushing for two industry standard silicon wafer sizes, with diameters of 295mm or 285mm, while two specific module sizes have been included, one featuring 120 half-cut cells and another featuring 132 half-cut cells.

The standardised 120-cell module holds dimensions of 2172 x 1303mm, while the 132-cell module is slightly taller at 2384mm, with the same width.