Executive summary – Solar PV Global Supply Chains

Government policies in China have shaped the global supply, demand and price of solar PV over the last decade. Chinese industrial policies focusing on solar PV as a strategic sector and on growing domestic demand have enabled economies of scale and supported continuous innovation throughout the supply chain. These policies have contributed to a cost decline more than 80%, helping solar PV to become the most affordable electricity generation technology in many parts of the world. However, they have also led to supply-demand imbalances in the PV supply chain. Global capacity for manufacturing wafers and cells, which are key solar PV elements, and for assembling them into solar panels (also known as modules), exceeded demand by at least 100% at the end of . By contrast, production of polysilicon, the key material for solar PV, is currently a bottleneck in an otherwise oversupplied supply chain. This has led to tight global supplies and a quadrupling of polysilicon prices over the last year.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website OUSHANG SOLAR.

Solar PV products are a significant export for China. In , the value of China&#;s solar PV exports was over USD 30 billion, almost 7% of China&#;s trade surplus over the last five years. In addition, Chinese investments in Malaysia and Viet Nam also made these countries major exporters of PV products, accounting for around 10% and 5% respectively of their trade surpluses since . The total value of global PV-related trade &#; including polysilicon, wafers, cells and modules &#; exceeded USD 40 billion in , an increase of over 70% from .

Description

List of the 10 largest solar panel manufacturers

The global industry of solar panel manufacturers is somewhat hard to compare as companies announce different measurements of their size and their production capacities. Some companies announce their annual module capacity while others announce their lifetime capacity. We have compiled a list that includes the largest companies in both categories. In the following we present ten global solar panel manufacturers.

1) LONGi Solar Technology Co, Ltd (Xi&#;an, China)

LONGi Solar is one of the largest solar panel manufacturers in the World. The Company is located in the Chinese town of Xi&#;an in the province of Shaanxi. LONGi Solar was established in the year and has revenues of 8.416 billion US dollars. The company produces 30GW of high-efficiency solar wafers and modules per year. These modules are monocrystalline and use either the PERC, the bifacial technology, or both. The current generation cells of the LONGi Solar have 30-year reliability and their P-type PERC cells have an efficiency of 24.06%.

Update : LONGi inked a substantial 576MW sales agreement with Nofar Energy Romania for an undisclosed photovoltaic (PV) project in Romania. The project, anticipated to commence construction in , will utilize LONGi&#;s Hi-MO 7 modules and is projected to become operational in .

2) JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China)

JinkoSolar is a listed solar panel manufacturer from Shanghai, China. The company owns nine production facilities globally and has an annual capacity of 31 GW for solar wafers, 19 GW for solar cells, and 36 GW for solar modules. JinkoSolar especially has a focus on Half-Cell technology, Bifacial technology, and Tiling Ribbon technology, which is a rivaling technique to 5BB and was developed by JinkoSolar. Jinko has overall delivered over 260 GW of renewable energy. The company&#;s products are being used in over 200 countries worldwide, serving over 4,000 customers.

Update : JinkoSolar recently supplied the first SunTera Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in sub-Saharan Africa.

3) Trina Solar Co., Ltd (Changzhou, China)

Trina Solar is a China-based solar panel manufacturer. The company is located in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu, in the city of Changzhou. Trina Solar was founded in and has so far delivered over 77 GW of solar modules globally. Since the company is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The firm develops ultra-high power monocrystalline solar modules and some incorporate the bifacial technology. The manufacturer has regional headquarters in Miami, Zurich, Dubai, USA Silicon Valley, Singapore, and offices or branches in Mexico, Madrid, Rome, and Sydney. The company has to date broken 26 world records regarding solar cell efficiency and module power.

4) Canadian Solar Inc. (Guelph, Canada)

Canadian Solar is, as the name implies, a Canada-based solar module manufacturer. The company was founded in by Dr. Shawn Qu to &#;foster sustainable development and to create a better and cleaner earth for future generations&#;. In the last 20 years, the company has evolved into one of the global players in the solar industry with more than 125 GW of solar modules shipped to over 160 countries globally. The company is publicly traded on NASDAQ and has received multiple awards like the &#;No. 1 Top Bankable Manufacturer Rated by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) in &#; Award by Bloomberg. Canadian Solar produces inverters, energy storage systems, and solar modules with Bifacial, HJT, and PERC technologies. It has subsidiaries in 23 countries and regions on six continents.

5) Hanwha Solutions Corporation (Seoul, South Korea)

Q-Cells is a solar module manufacturer that was founded in Germany in . After being bought out of bankruptcy by the Hanwha Group the firm relocated to Seoul, South Korea. The company is a leading solar company with R&D facilities in Germany, Korea, China, and Malaysia.

Update : Q-Cells is gratified to have been awarded the Top Performer Award for the ninth consecutive year, by the PV Module Reliability Scorecard, developed by Kiwa PV Evolution Labs (PVEL). Furthermore, Q-Cells has been the recipient of commendations from RETC, EuPD Research and n-tv.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit 72 Cells Solar Panel China.

6) Risen Energy Co., Ltd. (Ningbo, China)

Risen Energy is a publicly-traded Chinese company, founded in . Risen Energy is one of the oldest solar companies still active today. The company manufactures wafers, cells, and solar modules and is also an investor and a developer of EPC projects in the solar industry. The company has a yearly solar module capacity of 19.1 GW produces PERC, HJT, and Bifacial solar modules. Risen established  the Global Photovoltaic Research Institute in and through that created a platform for global photovoltaic technology exchange and cooperation.

Update : Risen has signed a solar panel contract  with MTR for 1 GW Heterojunction Technology (HJT).

7) First Solar Inc. (Tempe, USA)

First Solar is one of the large American solar panel manufacturers based in Tempe, Arizona that was founded in . Since the company is led by CEO Mark Widmar. First Solar produces utility-scale solar modules often used in solar plants. The modules have a warranty of 25 years and use advanced Thin Film solar technology which has a higher temperature coefficient and lower degradation rate than conventional silicon-based solar modules. First Solar is distinctive among the ten largest solar manufacturers globally in that it is the sole US-based enterprise and does not engage in manufacturing operations in China. The company is a Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) member, and completed its inaugural RBA Validated Assessment Program audit at its manufacturing facilities in Ohio in May .

Update : First Solar has become the inaugural EPEAT Climate+ Champion in the solar industry, thereby establishing a global standard for Ultra-Low carbon solar technology.

8) Wuxi Suntech Power Co., Ltd. (Wuxi, China)

Suntech is a solar cell and module producer from Wuxi, China which was founded in . So far the company has delivered solar modules to over 100 countries worldwide with a combined capacity of 50 GW. Suntech uses state-of-the-art PERC technology and Bifacial, Half-Cell, and Multi-Busbar technologies.

Update : A list of products with excellent performance, as determined by the Tokyo Government in Japan, has recently been released and includes four types of household modules from Suntech.

9) JA SOLAR Technology Co.,Ltd. (Beijing, China)

JA SOLAR is a Beijing-based solar module manufacturer that was founded in and is listed on the NASDAQ. The company has delivered solar modules to over 33.000 clients in over 100 countries worldwide and has a lifetime capacity of 73 GW of solar modules. JA SOLAR produces Bifacial PERC modules and HAlf-Cell in addition to conventional monocrystalline solar modules. For multiple consecutive years JA Solar has been listed in the &#;Fortune 500 China 500&#; and &#;Global Top 500 New Energy Enterprises&#;.

Update : JA Solar has signed a 1 GW PV module distribution agreement with the Australian solar distributor One Stop Warehouse (OSW). The agreement applies from to and aims to drive the global tranisiton to clena energy by deepening collaboration in the European, Asian, and American solar market. 

10) Worldwide Energy and Manufacturing USA Co., Ltd (South San Francisco, USA)

Worldwide Energy and Manufacturing USA Co., Ltd  is a US-based photovoltaic module manufacturer that was founded in . In addition to the production of solar modules the company is also a provider of PV technical services for solar plants. Worldwide Energy and Manufacturing USA Co., Ltd has a capacity of around 9 GW annually. The company has 6 independent Business Divisions in Europe, Asia, and the United States.

List of the largest photovoltaic module manufacturers

Solar energy is one of the most important renewable energies that humans are able to use on a large scale. The sun sends more energy to earth in one hour than humankind uses in a year, and in addition to that, we are able to harvest it easily and cheaply compared to fossil fuels. One way to capture sunlight is with solar or photovoltaic modules. Our database contains the largest photovoltaic module manufacturers in the world. The majority of the firms have their headquarters and manufacturing sites in China but do also have regional offices around the globe. Next to China, there are many companies from India, the US, and Germany as well as solar module manufacturers from the UK, France, Spain, Japan, and South Korea.

Included columns in this list

• Company Name
• Legal form
• URL
• Country
• City
• Postcode
• Address
• Management
• Parent company
• GW capacity

Included countries in this database

• Algeria
• Australia
• Austria
• Canada
• China
• Estonia
• France
• Germany
• India
• Italy
• Japan
• Norway
• Singapore
• South Korea
• Spain
• Switzerland
• Taiwan
• UAE
• UK
• USA

Image Source: Unsplash (Markus Spiske, 26.01.22; Nuno Marques, 26.01.22)

Are you interested in learning more about 72 Cells Solar Panel OEM? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!