Modern solar panels are around 22% efficient — up from roughly 10% before.
Confirmed against current Tier-1 PV manufacturer datasheets (Longi, Trina, JA Solar, Jinko), the NREL Best Research-Cell Efficiency chart, the Fraunhofer ISE Photovoltaics Report 2024, and the IEA Solar PV Technology Roadmap. Current Tier-1 commercial monocrystalline PERC modules deliver 21-22.8% efficiency; TOPCon modules deliver 22.5-24.5%; HJT modules deliver 24-25.5%. The 22% figure is squarely within the current commercial Tier-1 band — if anything conservative. The historical ~10% reference is slightly low for mainstream silicon (which was 11-14% in the late 1990s and 14-17% in the late 2000s) but is roughly accurate for early thin-film and entry-level residential installations. The directional doubling is real and well-documented.
Confirmed against current Tier-1 PV manufacturer datasheets (Longi, Trina, JA Solar, Jinko), the NREL Best Research-Cell Efficiency chart, the Fraunhofer ISE Photovoltaics Report 2024, and the IEA Solar PV Technology Roadmap. Current Tier-1 commercial monocrystalline PERC modules deliver 21-22.8% efficiency; TOPCon modules deliver 22.5-24.5%; HJT modules deliver 24-25.5%. The 22% figure is squarely within the current commercial Tier-1 band — if anything conservative. The historical ~10% reference is slightly low for mainstream silicon (which was 11-14% in the late 1990s and 14-17% in the late 2000s) but is roughly accurate for early thin-film and entry-level residential installations. The directional doubling is real and well-documented.
We tested Grech's efficiency claim against the NREL Best Research-Cell Efficiency historical chart, the Fraunhofer ISE Photovoltaics Report 2024, the IEA Solar PV Technology Roadmap, and current Tier-1 manufacturer datasheets (Longi Hi-MO 6, Trina Vertex S+, JA Solar DeepBlue 4.0, Jinko Tiger Neo, Maxeon 7, LG NeON H, Meyer Burger HJT). The methodological question is narrow: does the ~22% modern / ~10% historical comparison reflect the PV technology trajectory.
Verdict lands at True because current commercial Tier-1 monocrystalline PERC modules deliver 21-22.8% efficiency, TOPCon 22.5-24.5%, and HJT 24-25.5%. The 22% figure is squarely within the cost-optimised Tier-1 band and on the conservative side relative to the current TOPCon and HJT frontier. The ~10% historical reference is slightly low — mainstream silicon PV was 11-14% in the late 1990s and 14-17% in the late 2000s — but is roughly accurate as a 'two decades ago' shorthand including early thin-film and entry-level residential modules. The directional doubling Grech cited is real and well-documented across NREL, Fraunhofer ISE and IEA primary sources. The deep-dive lays out the efficiency time-series; this editorial note is methodology only.
Are modern solar panels really around 22% efficient
Tested against the NREL Best Research-Cell Efficiency historical chart, the Fraunhofer ISE Photovoltaics Report 2024, the IEA Solar PV Technology Roadmap, and current Tier-1 manufacturer datasheets (Longi Hi-MO 6, Trina Vertex S+, JA Solar DeepBlue 4.0, Jinko Tiger Neo, Maxeon 7, LG NeON H, Meyer Burger HJT). Joseph Grech's claim that modern panels operate around 22% efficiency — up from approximately 10% before — holds against every primary-source benchmark. Tier-1 commercial monocrystalline PERC modules achieve 21-22.8%; TOPCon technology delivers 22.5-24.5%; HJT modules reach 24-25.5%. The 22% figure is squarely within the current cost-optimised Tier-1 band and conservative relative to the TOPCon/HJT frontier. The historical ~10% reference is slightly low for mainstream silicon but accurate as a 'two decades ago' shorthand including early thin-film and entry-level residential modules.
The efficiency trajectory
The NREL Best Research-Cell Efficiency Chart and the Fraunhofer ISE Photovoltaics Report record the commercial PV module-efficiency trajectory as follows. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, mainstream silicon PV modules typically ran at 11-14%; early thin-film and entry-level residential modules sat lower, in the 8-12% band, which is the reference Grech's '10%' framing most closely matches. By the late 2000s and early 2010s, mainstream residential installations reached 15-17%. The commercial Tier-1 module-efficiency frontier crossed 20% around 2017-2018 and has continued climbing through PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Contact), TOPCon (Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact) and HJT (Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin Layer) technology generations.
Grech's framing — that older panels ran around 10% and modern panels around 22% — slightly overstates the doubling on the older end (mainstream silicon was 12-14% rather than 10%) but is essentially correct in direction and magnitude. The newer figure sits squarely within the current Tier-1 commercial band. If anything the figure is on the conservative side, since the latest TOPCon and HJT modules deliver 23-25%.
What modules are commercially available now
Tier-1 PV manufacturers' published 2024-2025 datasheets confirm the efficiency band Grech cited:
- Longi Hi-MO 6 (monocrystalline PERC) — module efficiency 22.0-22.8%
- Trina Vertex S+ (TOPCon) — module efficiency 22.5-23.0%
- JA Solar DeepBlue 4.0 (TOPCon) — module efficiency 22.5-23.2%
- Jinko Tiger Neo (TOPCon) — module efficiency 22.5-23.5%
- Maxeon 7 / SunPower (back-contact silicon) — module efficiency 24.0-24.1%
- LG NeON H / Meyer Burger HJT — module efficiency 24-25.5%
For utility-scale installations, the cost-optimised choice in 2024-2025 is typically PERC or TOPCon modules in the 22-23% band. HJT and back-contact modules are reserved for space-constrained applications where the efficiency premium justifies the higher per-watt cost. The "22%" figure Grech cited is the mainstream operating point of current commercial PV.
The "~10% before" reference
The older comparison point Grech cited deserves a closer look because it slightly overstates the doubling. Mainstream silicon PV modules in the late 1990s and early 2000s operated at 11-14%, not 10%. Early thin-film modules (amorphous silicon, CdTe in its early commercial phase) ran lower at 6-10%. Entry-level residential installations from the 2005-2010 window typically used modules in the 12-15% range. The "10%" framing is therefore most accurate as a description of either (a) early thin-film technology specifically, or (b) the rough baseline twenty-odd years ago when mainstream commercial PV first became economically viable for residential deployment.
As a rhetorical 'efficiency has roughly doubled' shorthand, the comparison is correct in direction and roughly correct in magnitude. The mainstream silicon trajectory is more accurately characterised as 12-14% to 22-23% — slightly under a doubling rather than slightly over. The structural point Grech was making — that current PV is meaningfully more efficient than the technology a generation of Maltese residents experienced — is well-supported by every primary-source benchmark.
So is the claim accurate?
Yes. Current Tier-1 commercial PV modules deliver 22-25% efficiency, with mainstream cost-optimised TOPCon at ~23%. The 22% figure Grech cited is squarely within the current commercial band and conservative relative to the TOPCon/HJT frontier. The historical ~10% reference is slightly low for mainstream silicon (which was 11-14% in the late 1990s and 14-17% in the late 2000s) but accurate for early thin-film and entry-level residential modules of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The directional doubling is real and well-documented across NREL, Fraunhofer ISE and IEA primary sources.
Verdict: True.