China Solar PV News Snippets: JinkoSolar Earns Harvard Business Review Recognition & More
Source：TaiyangNews
Jinko Power forms residential solar JV; JA Solar & Skyworth PV sign cooperation agreement; SPIC releases blue paper; Cloud Live wins Inspur’s 30M solar cell order; CPIA pegs Dec module cost at RMB 0.692/W.
JinkoSolar has been named to the "2024 China New Growth Technology Leadership List" by Harvard Business Review for its cutting-edge R&D and innovations in n-type TOPCon photovoltaic technology. (Photo Credit: JinkoSolar)
JinkoSolar tops 2024 China New Growth Technology Leadership List
Vertically integrated solar manufacturer JinkoSolar has been named to the "2024 China New Growth Technology Leadership List" by Harvard Business Review for its cutting-edge R&D and innovations in n-type TOPCon photovoltaic technology. Announced at the New Growth Conference, JinkoSolar says this honor underscores its leadership in advancing solar industry technology and sustainability.
The company says it has maintained a 6-month lead over competitors by being an early adopter of n-type TOPCon. From 2021 to mid-2024, the company invested nearly RMB 18 billion ($2.47 billion) in R&D, securing over 2,800 authorized patents, including 462 for N-type TOPCon. Its innovations have driven industry progress, with its perovskite cells achieving a record-breaking 33.24% efficiency in 2024. JinkoSolar plans to boost efficiency by 0.5% annually over 3 years, further solidifying its role as a technological leader driving industrial upgrades and sustainable growth.
Earlier this month, JinkoSolar filed a patent infringement lawsuit against VSUN Solar USA, Toyo Co. Ltd. and their affiliates in the US and abroad (see JinkoSolar Files Patent Infringements Case Against VSUN & TOYO).
Jinko Power establishes residential PV subsidiary
Jinko Power, a subsidiary of JinkoSolar in the power investment, development, and operation sector, has announced that it has established a joint venture (JV) with Jiaxing Yichen Equity Investment Partnership through its subsidiary Shanghai Jingping Electric Power Co., Ltd. The new JV, named Suzhou Hengxuan New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., has a registered capital of RMB 226.27 million ($31.85 million). Shanghai Jingping holds an 18.005% stake in this JV, while Jiaxing Yichen holds 81.995%. It will focus on developing or acquiring solar projects owned by Shanghai Jingping and its affiliates. Jinko Power stated that the joint venture aims to promote a high turnover operational strategy for residential solar PV, improve asset turnover efficiency, and deepen collaboration with professional investment institutions.
In October, Jinko Power reached a residential solar PV asset transaction cooperation with Avenue Capital Group, completing the first batch transaction of a 268 MW residential asset package (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
JA Solar collaborates with Skyworth PV
JA Solar and Skyworth PV, a subsidiary of the well-known home appliance manufacturer Skyworth Group focused on distributed power station development and operation, have signed a strategic cooperation agreement. The 2 companies are taking a step ahead with the current strategic cooperation agreement, where they have set a goal to achieve 3 GW of module cooperation by 2025. JA Solar stated that the cooperation with Skyworth PV has surpassed 5 GW of modules since 2020.
JA Solar recently received the Solar Prosumer Award and the Energy Transition Award from EUPD Research (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
SPIC releases blue paper on PV and energy storage
State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) has released the SPIC Photovoltaic and Energy Storage Empirical Blue Paper (2024). The data in the blue paper comes from the first national PV and energy storage empirical experimental platform, which has established bases in Daqing City and Ganzi City. This platform is an independent, non-profit research initiative, states SPIC. The blue paper reveals key empirical results in areas such as meteorology, solar modules, inverters, solar racks, energy storage products, and PV systems.
For example, in terms of solar modules, the blue paper shows that after empirical comparisons of 29 types of modules from 12 manufacturers at the Daqing base and 20 types from 11 manufacturers at the Ganzi base, TOPCon modules exhibited the highest energy generation, outperforming IBC and PERC modules by an average of 2.45% and 3.02%, respectively. The degradation rate for TOPCon modules was 1.57%-2.51%, while it was 0.89%-1.35% for IBC and 1.54%-3.80% for PERC modules.
Cloud Live receives order for 30 million cells
Solar cell and module supplier Cloud Live Technology has announced that it has been selected as the first candidate by Inspur in phase 3 of its silicon solar cell procurement. According to the announcement, Cloud Live will be responsible for supplying 30 million silicon solar cells. The contract is estimated at about RMB 70.11 million ($9.6 million), which is about 36.79% of Cloud Live Technology's 2023 operating income as audited. As of the disclosure date, Cloud Live Technology has won bids to supply 110 million solar cells to Inspur, including the current win, and is reported to have delivered 68.1155 million cells so far.
China’s December tax-inclusive cost of solar modules at RMB 0.692/W
The China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) has released comprehensive cost data for mainstream photovoltaic products (n-type M10 and G12R) for December 2024. Excluding depreciation and value-added tax (VAT) for the silicon material, wafer, and cell segments, the final tax-inclusive cost of the module (including minimum necessary expenses) is RMB 0.692/W ($0.097/W). The minimum necessary expenses consider factors such as the varying distances from factories to project sites, differences in delivery methods, and warranty costs. According to the survey, the current domestic module transportation cost is RMB 0.015/W per 1,000 kilometers ($0.0021/W).
The CPIA added, "Considering the current severe oversupply in the industry and that companies are operating at their limits to clear inventory, the cost estimate above does not include depreciation, thus it is lower than actual production costs and lower than the total cost including the three expenses. It represents the minimum cost for leading companies in the industry while maintaining product quality.”
