Amid dire situations within the Chinese solar PV industry, Jinko Solar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) seeks to buck the trend by heralding a development model that emphasizes high quality, high efficiency, high reliability and product design. No doubt, in the past year the company has not been able to avoid the streak of financial losses that have prevailed among the Chinese PV enterprises, but the newly awarded TUV Nord IEC 62782 Testing Certification, Dust & Sand Certification, and Instituto Giordano's Fire Resistance Certification, as well as the debut of the new "Eagle II" series of products, seem to be pointing at a profitable future for the company.
Launch of “Eagle II” Series
In reaction to significant overcapacity in the marketplace, Jinko strategizes to maintain its competitive edge and profit margins by providing high-quality PV products that cater to customers' needs instead of continuously slashing product prices.
The company’s new line of products, brand-named “Eagle II,” which debuted recently at the 7th SNEC International Photovoltaic Power Generation Conference & Exhibition in Shanghai, serve as a testament to Jinko’s commitment to high quality, reliability and product design.
Designed for both rooftops and ground-mounting systems, the “Eagle II” series reach peak power output of 260-270 Watts per 60-cell module, which is among the highest power outputs in the current market. The "Eagle II" solar module utilizes polycrystalline cells to increase efficiency by decreasing electrical resistance. The new series of modules are certified under extreme weather conditions of 85 Degrees Celsius and 85% relative humidity (PID free).
Obtaining High Industry Standard
The high performance of Jinko’s products have accordingly received accreditation from industry-standard performance testing systems.
On May 22nd, Jinko announced that its modules have passed the TUV Nord IEC62782 dynamic mechanical load testing for PV modules, the first ever issuance within the global solar PV industry since the establishment of the standard according to the International Electro-technical Commission’s First Draft. The new rigorous testing puts PV modules in a dynamic environment that better simulates the pressure and turbulence experienced by modules in real-world conditions.
Alongside the IEC62782 testing, Jinko has also passed TUV Nord’s Dust & Sand Certification Test, proving the modules’ ability to withstand harsh desert-like conditions with high-velocity sand and vast accumulation of dust on module surfaces over time, at the same time demonstrating Jinko’s competency as it continues to increase its already active presence in the emerging markets including northwestern China, Africa, India, South America and the Middle East. “TUV Nord’s Dust & Sand Certification guarantees that our PV solar modules are durable and well-suited for their harsh desert environments and extreme environmental conditions,” said Arturo Herrero, Chief Marketing Officer of Jinko.
Around the same time, Jinko’s modules have also received fire resistance certification from Italy’s Instituto Giordano in accordance with the Italian standard of “Guide for the installation of photovoltaic system 2012 edition,” receiving a Class 1 accreditation, which indicates the highest performance level.
Future Development Targets
Looking ahead, Jinko’s engineers aim to continue the focus on developing high-performance products with better design aesthetics.
Jinko plans to increase the modules’ unit area output capacity by as much as 5% each year going forward. Building on its already superior capacity of 255 - 260 Watts per 60-cell module, which is 10 Watts higher than the current industry average, the company is aiming for 265 - 270 Watts per unit for 2014.
At the same time, the company plans to continue increasing the reliability of the modules in diverse and extreme environments to suit the needs of the increasing emerging markets.
Jinko also aims to make headway in terms of product design. The company is in active development of new rooftop systems that are lighter in weight and size, but with higher unit output capacity, and that blend in better in appearance with the rooftop structure.
In Reaction to EU Tariffs
In response to the EU’s introduction of phased punitive anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs leveled against Chinese PV products, which was announced on June 5th to be uniformly at 11.8% from June 6th to August 5th and increase to as high as between 37.3% and 67.9% afterwards, Jinko’s founder and chairman of the board of directors, Li Xiande, is confident that the company “has done everything in its power to brave the impact of the tariffs” while maintaining the hope that negotiations could still resume for a possible win-win situation for overall trade between the EU and China.
Jinko has been actively expanding into emerging markets outside of the EU to distribute risks and seek sustainable growth since 2012. Jinko is currently the largest Chinese supplier to PV projects in South Africa and has an active presence and good performance in the Indian, Japanese and domestic Chinese markets. The company signed a deal to supply 115 MW of solar panels to two South African projects back in April. Domestically, in February Jinko signed a lucrative deal with China Three Gorges New Energy Corp (CTGNEC) to supply a total of 600 MW of panels for CTGNEC’s solar power plant projects in western China from 2013 to 2015.
The company also received capital injection of RMB 360 million from China Development Bank in April this year, greatly relieving cash flow pressure from recent losses and spurring Jinko’s ongoing development overseas and in the domestic market.
Jinko’s CEO, however, still recognizes the significance of the EU market, which he said still accounts for 40 - 50% of the world market in 2012, and he predicted will remain the dominant market in the foreseeable future. About 30% of Jinko’s shipment went to Europe in 2012. The figure is estimated to drop to 20% due to the EU punitive tariffs.
