15 years On, Ginlong Solis Is A Solar Champion

2020 might be a year most firms would like to forget, but for Ginlong Solis, the global inverter manufacturer, the year remains a key milestone on the firm’s journey to an ever-growing role in the global solar market.

This year marks the firm’s 15th year of operations, a journey every stakeholder can look back with pride. From small beginnings in Ningbo, one of China’s oldest historical cities in Zhejiang province, Ginlong (Solis) has today grown to be a global string inverter major, or tier 1 firm as the industry jargon goes, with a 5 GW production capacity that is set to be expanded to 20 GW by 2021-22. With 15 GW of global deliveries behind it, the firm today has over USD 200 million in assets, and a 1000 strong global workforce with 200 plus technicians.

To everyone’s surprise, Solis’s oversea sales revenue is still showing great strength despite the COVID-19 pandemic; which could be called a miracle. The financial reports showed that the company’s half-year operating income was USD 106.6 million, an increase of 76.73 percent year-on-year. The net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was USD 17.3 million, an increase of 281.87 percent year-on-year.

In fact, as the only listed string inverter manufacturer, the firm is emerging as a key bellweather for the spread of string inverters worldwide. Ginlong’s focus on string inverter technology has positioned it well to meet emerging customer needs across all segments of the solar industry. Be it residential, C&I and utility applications. A good example is its intelligent hybrid PV inverter designed for solar-plus-battery systems. Designed for flexibility and performance, the storage inverter — soon available in the U.S. –allows residential customers to maximize self-consumption while boosting efficiency and overall returns.

Independent validations have followed– including its third-place ranking among Asian brands in Bloomberg NEF’s 2019 Inverter Bankability Report. In June this year, Ginlong Solis was conferred with respected industry body, TÜV Rheinland’s “All Quality Matters” award for its commercial inverters Solis-(25-50)K-5G in recognition for the outstanding product quality in 2020.

The company’s founder Yiming Wang dropped out of a Ph.D. program at Bristol University, to found the firm. He is also a visiting professor at Ningbo University to boot, ensuring that his firm keeps a strong connect with academic research. The firm developed a joint academic workstation with Shanghai University back in 2012. Solis has set its sights firmly on the utility segment, besides a stronger investment into its PV plant division. For the utility segment, where it sees a more predictable and higher growth market, its latest offering, the Solis 255K string inverter is its 5th generation offering.

The inverter incorporates a record 12 MPPTs design, a maximum efficiency of 99%, besides supporting a 200 percent DC/AC ratio. That also gives it an ability to handle 15 A maximum DC input current. It has 53 MPPT/MW high power tracking density and is compatible with higher watt peak modules and the latest 500W Bi-facial modules. Besides offering performance at high temperature going upto 50 degrees, the inverter, with its Fuse-less design, and IP66 protection class is well built for harsh environments.

Boasting an integrated anti-PID Recovery function to improve system efficiency means lower maintainance costs with extra safety. With the form reporting a failure rate of less than 0.2 percent in the independent DNV-GL reliability audit, Ginlong Solis is well poised to ride the expansion and growth in solar energy, especially on the back of string inverters, worldwide.

The firm has its sights firmly on being a global firm, with a strong presence in European markets, as well as Asia. That is reflected in its status as the first string inverter manufacturer to be listed at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, besides its aggressive expansion plans that will be backed by a strong R& D culture.

Nestled in a particularly scenic part of Zhejiang Province, the firm was recently recognised with the province’s “Hidden Champion” award by the regional Zhejiang Provincial Economic and Information Commission. The award takes into consideration the firm’s positive impact on the local community, environment and economy. It’s an attitude that serves the firm well as it seeks to make a case for its role in the spread of solar power around the world. For Ginlong Solis, the 15-year journey has been a rewarding trip, with its products sold in 100+ countries and regions today, with a total installed capacity of 15 GW +. That translates to a reduction of 5,864,660,000 tons of CO2 and 1,764,67,000 tons of SO2 from the environment, which is equivalent to planting 195,700,000 trees for the earth. Numbers any firm would be proud of.

[Updated September 9, 2020]