Top 10 solar panel suppliers in the world

The solar PV technology is experiencing a fast technological development for last few years. Also, few years back no solar company was able to reach 1GW mark, but in 2014 all the top 10 companies are above 1 GW of panel shipments. These top 10 suppliers are able to ship more than 24 GW of the solar panels in 2014, catering around 47% of the total demand in the world. It is quite interesting to note that 7 out of 10 manufacturers are from China, 2 are from Japan and one is from USA. China is the largest global market in the world with largest domestic solar modules demand.

Let's look at the top 10 solar panel suppliers in 2014:

(1) Trina Solar

• Rank: 1st
  
• Country: China
• Shipments: 3.66 GW in 2014
• Founded: 1997
• Employees: 14,280
  
• Website: www.trinasolar.com

It rose from second position in previous year to the first position in 2014. The company was founded in 1997 having its headquarters at Changzhou in China. It has become the number one supplier with 3.66 GW of panel shipment in 2014. The credit goes to its management and its vertically integrated supply chain which starts from in-house production of ingots, cells and wafers to the assembling of solar panels. Recently, the company has established a manufacturing facility of 500 MW module capacities and 700 MW of cell capacity in Thailand.

(2) Yingli Green Energy

• Rank: 2nd
  
• Country: China
• Shipments: 3.3 GW in 2014
• Founded: 1998
• Employees: 16,000 +
  
• Website: www.yinglisolar.com
• NYSE symbol: YGE

 Yingli lost its first position and settles into second in 2014. It sells solar panels to most of the part of Europe, Australia and USA. This Chinese company was founded in 1998 and headquartered in Baoding. It is a sponsor of 2014 FIFA World cup. Recently, Yingli has signed an agreement with LONGi Silicon Materials Corp. to jointly manufacture silicon wafers, ingots, solar cells and panels. This will enable Yingli to incorporate highly efficient technology of LONGi into its production lines.

(3) Canadian Solar

• Rank: 3rd
  
• Country: China
• Shipments: 3.1 GW in 2014
• Founded: 2001
• Employees: 10,000
• Website: www.canadiansolar.com
• NASDAQ symbol: CSIQ

This stable Chinese contender is standing at 3rd position. It was founded in 2001 in Ontario, Canada, hence named as Canadian solar; it operates globally having its offices in 18 countries spreading across 6 continents. It is one of the first solar panel manufacturing companies having onsite testing lab for international safety standards for solar panels. Recently, it has completed the acquisition of Recurrent Energy (Energy developer of North America) of Sharp Corporation. This acquisition has increased the project pipeline of Canadian Solar.

(4) Jinko Solar

• Rank: 4th
  
• Country: China
• Shipments: 3 GW in 2014
• Founded: 2006
• Employees: 15000+
• Website: www.jinkosolar.com
• NYSE symbol: JKS

Another solar company from China which is standing stable at number 4 position it has its manufacturing base in Jiangxi and Zhejiang in China. Its supply chain is vertically integrated with annual capacity of 3 GW of ingots and wafers, 2 GW of solar cells and 3.5 GW of solar panels. It has recently entered into supply agreement with Vivint solar, which provide solar energy in the residential sector in USA. This partnership will enable Jinko Solar to provide high quality panels and services to the residential customers of USA.

(5) JA Solar

• Rank: 5th
  
• Country: China
• Shipments: 2.4 GW
• Founded: 2005
• Employees: 1465
• Website: www.JAsolar.com
• NASDAQ symbol: JASO

This Chinese company design develops, manufacture solar cell and then assemble these cells into solar panels. It is founded in 2005 and having its headquarters in Shanghai in China. It has solar cell manufacturing capacity of 2.5 GW (annually). Recently, it has signed MOU with Essels Infra projects limited of India to establish a solar cell and panel manufacturing facility.

(6) Hanwha Solarone

• Rank: 6th
  
• Country: China
• Shipments: 2.1 GW (combined  of Hanwha Solar One and Hanwha Q cells) in 2014
• Founded: 2004 and Q-cells was founded in 2012
• Employees: 12000 + and 1350 employees of Hanwha Q cells
• Website: www.hanwha-solarone.com
• NASDAQ symbol: HQCL

It jumped from 10th position in 2013 to 6th position in 2014, an increment of 4 positions. It is due to the fact of its merger with widely recognized company in the solar industry Hanwha Qcells, headquarters in Germany. The combined company is now listed on NASDAQ under symbol HQCL. It is headquartered in Qidong in China. Its main markets are Europe and Japan.

(7) Sharp

• Rank: 7th
  
• Country: Japan
• Shipments: 2.1 GW in 2014
• Founded: 1912
• Employees: 59,000 +
• Website: www.sharp-solar.com

Sharp Solar is a subsidiary of Sharp Electronics which is one of the oldest companies founded in 1912 having its headquarters in Osaka, Japan. It has more than 27 offices spreading across North America, South and Central America, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Oceania and Asia.  In the month of June, it has started producing in-cell type touch displays for smart handsets. This will enable smart phone manufacturers more freedom and flexibility in designing the phones.

(8) Renesola

• Rank: 8th
  
• Country: China
• Shipments: 1.97 GW in 2014
• Founded: 2005
• Employees: 9500+
• Website: www.renesola.com
• NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) symbol: SOL

This Chinese Company has around 30 offices in 16 countries across globe. It has earned the reputation of producing superior quality products having high efficiency. It is founded in 2005 having its head office in Shanghai, China. The company has planned to expand its operations in Canada and Mexico and for this it has opened offices in Mexico City and Ontario in Canada. It has recently joined the Canadian Solar Industry Association (CANSIA).

(9) First Solar

• Rank: 9th
  
• Country: USA
• Shipments: 1.5 GW in 2014
• Founded: 1999
• Employees: 5600
• Website: www.firstsolar.com
• NASDAQ symbol: FSLR

Now, here comes a company from USA. It produces Cd-Te (Cadmium-Telluride) panels which are competing with conventional crystalline silicon technology. It is one of the companies who lowered the cost of manufacturing below $1 per watt. It was actually founded in 1990 but in 1999 it was purchased by True North partners and renamed it First Solar. It has its headquarters in Arizona. Recently, it’s Cd-Te (Cadmium-Telluride) panels have achieved 18.6% conversion efficiency which is certified by National Renewable Energy Laboratory of USA (NREL)

(10) Kyocera

• Rank: 10th
  
• Country: Japan
• Shipments: 1.2 GW in 2014
• Founded: 1959
• Employees: 68,000+
• Website: www.kyocerasolar.com
• NYSE symbol: KYO

This Japanese Company is standing at 10th position. The holding company Kyocera Corporation is an electronics company which is well diversified into solar power systems, telecommunication, electronic components and semiconductor. It manufactures wide range of products like printers, satellite phones, mobile phones in addition to the solar panels. It was founded in 1959 and headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It is providing solar power solutions for last 40 years. It has its own vertically integrated supply chain from manufacturing of solar cells to the assembling of the panels.

A consolidated view

Rank	Company	Country	Shipments in 2014 (GW)
1	Trina Solar	China	3.66
2	Yingli Green Energy	China	3.3
3	Canadian solar	China	3.1
4	Jinko Solar	China	3
5	JA Solar	China	2.4
6	Hanwha Solar one	China	2.1
7	Sharp	Japan	2
8	Renesola	China	1.97
9	First Solar	USA	1.5
10	Kyocera	Japan	1.2

 

The top solar companies in the world

Country-wise shipments in 2014

Country wise shipment	GW
China	19.53
US	1.5
Japan	3.3

 

Conclusion

The firms are focussing on the large production capacities so to achieve economies of scale and launch panels at lower prices in the market. The positions are changing very fast in last few years. First Solar positions declined from number 2 slot to number 6 in 2013 and number 9 in 2014. Suntech used to be number 1 company in 2010 but it was near bankruptcy in 2012. The Chinese manufacturers are clearly focussing of large production capacity so as provide panels at cheaper rate. The Japanese groups Sharp and Kyocera related to electronics industry background and are well diversified groups. The US Company First Solar is making thin film Cd-Te panels to become more competitive. The manufacturer cannot survive unless it makes profit.
Moreover, the solar industry has become highly competitive; the top companies need to evaluate new technology constantly to remain in the race. The solar industry is going to grow at an average rate of 10%-15% with Asia pacific region will one of the largest growth drivers and major contributors will be China, Japan and India.
(Main Data source: Wikipedia & IHS)

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