China Solar PV News Snippets: JinkoSolar On BNEF's Energy Storage Tier 1 List & More

JinkoSolar ranked Tier 1 on BNEF’s Energy Storage list again: Leading PV and ESS company JinkoSolar has been recognized by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BloombergNEF) as a Tier 1 manufacturer on the BNEF Energy Storage Tier 1 List 3Q 2024 for its performance in energy storage. The company says this accolade underscores its technological expertise and contributions to the global energy transition. The company's energy storage products are used in various scenarios, including utility, commercial, industrial, and residential systems. JinkoSolar's SunTera G2 energy storage system, with a 5 MWh capacity in a 20-foot container, features liquid cooling and multi-level fire protection, optimizing safety and reliability. It improves area utilization by over 37%, system RTE by 2%, and overall efficiency by over 94%, making it a cost-effective solution with reduced auxiliary power consumption and enhanced O&M reliability.

Recently, JinkoSolar launched the RMB 10 million Qingmiao Award at Yuhuan High School to recognize outstanding teachers and students (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Canadian Solar forecasts H1 2024 net profits of up to RMB 1.4 B: Solar module manufacturer Canadian Solar expects to report net profits of RMB 1.2 billion ($165.31 million) to RMB 1.4 billion ($193.01 million) for the first half of 2024. The company expects to report module shipments of 8 GW for Q2 2024, up 27% quarter-over-quarter from 6.3 GW reported last quarter. The company says it prioritized profitability by voluntarily reducing shipments of some PV products and foregoing some unprofitable orders.

On the energy storage front, the company's large-scale ESS deliveries in Q1 this year have already matched the total for 2023. Deliveries in Q2 are expected to exceed the first quarter by over 50%. Canadian Solar projects that its annual shipments of large energy storage products will reach 6-6.5 GWh, marking an approximate 500% increase from 2023. As of March 31, 2024, the company has about 56 GWh of energy storage system orders, including signed long-term service agreements worth $2.5 billion.

LONGi selected for S&P Global's Sustainability Yearbook: Solar PV giant LONGi has announced its selection in S&P Global’s ‘The Sustainability Yearbook (China Edition) 2024.’ LONGi says it has been recognized for its outstanding performance in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects. The company also received special recognition as ‘The most improved enterprise in the industry’ in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA). LONGi stated it is committed to driving cost reduction and efficiency improvements in the PV industry through technological research and innovation. In the social domain, LONGi has intensified its efforts in responsible management, green supply chain, and diversity and inclusion. In June 2024, LONGi unveiled its human rights policy for the first time at Intersolar Europe in Germany. In terms of supply chain management, LONGi has assisted suppliers in conducting carbon audits and energy-saving and emission reduction initiatives, launched a diverse supplier program, and worked with upstream and downstream partners to build a green and sustainable supply chain.

LONGi recently announced its plans to build a 12.5 GW high-efficiency BC (Back Contact) cell manufacturing plant (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

AIKO’s ABC modules deliver 9.55% higher power per Watt: Recent empirical data from the Ningxia Electric Power Design Institute has shown that AIKO Solar’s ABC modules deliver 9.55% higher power generation per Watt than TOPCon modules. The data is from a 145.835 kW project built on the roof of the Ningxia Electric Power Design Institute in Yinchuan City in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The project uses 12 ABC bifacial glass-glass modules from AIKO with a nominal power of 630 W, and 14 TOPCon bifacial glass-glass modules with a nominal power of 590 W. While of the same size, the ABC modules feature 40 W higher power than the TOPCon modules. Tested over a period of 84 days, the ABC modules were found to generate 9.55% higher power per kilowatt than TOPCon modules. On January 17, 2024, AIKO’s ABC modules were observed to deliver a power generation per kilowatt gain of 19.79%. In shadowy conditions, the ABC modules were found deliver power gains as high as 79.01% vs. TOPCon, while delivering a single-watt power generation of 7.41% even in shadowless conditions at noon.

This week, AIKO secured a contract to supply its high efficiency ABC Star Series modules for the ‘largest’ ground-mounted PV project in Bosnia and Herzegovina (see Europe Solar PV News Snippets).

China Datang starts 2024-2025 PV inverter procurement: Independent power generation company China Datang has released the framework bidding announcement for PV inverters for 2024-2025. Divided into 3 sections, the total procurement capacity available for bidding is 16 GW. The 12 GW Section 1 is for high-power string inverters, Section 2 is for centralized inverters for 3 GW capacity, and Section 3 is for 1 GW of distributed string inverters.