JinkoSolar builds momentum for Transition to Mono PERC Modules in India

JinkoSolar claims to have repositioned itself as a premium market leader in India, especially in the mono PERC technology segment.

China-based JinkoSolar has posted its best quarterly result ever in India, with sales performing positively in Q4, delivering close to 160 MW panels. The company says it has achieved a 24% market share in the mono segment. It also claims to be the leader in the mono PERC (Monocrystalline – Passivated Emitter Rear Contact) segment in India with about 45% market share, exclusively offering bigger size cell of mono PERC.

For Jinko, how fast India moves to Mono will be very important to its growth plans. And the signs are good, with a predominantly poly market making a clear move towards mono in the past few months. Recent tenders like the Leh-Kargil tender for 7.5 GW, which have placed a very high CUF requirement also points to a push to upgrade to Indian developers from the government. All good news for Jinko and other key Monoplayers like Longi.

Globally, the predictions from across the industry are that 2019 will be the year for mono PERC products. These predictions were made due to the higher than expected total PERC capacity additions, rising from 33.6 GW at the end of 2017, to 66.7 GW in late 2018. It is estimated that this capacity will expand by over 26 GW by the end of 2019, boosting it to more than 92 GW. Overall, accounting for a 46% share of the market next year.

“Mono, especially mono PERC models will remain a very strong growth driver in India. It has been witnessed by the robust demand for JinkoSolar’s higher power mono products and better ASP. Rising above average ASP demonstrates that India customers have become more focused on technology and quality than ever before,” the company released in a statement.

“Developers and investors have recognized that performance of investment relies 100% on the performance of technology and quality selected. They understood that the impact of lower power, lower cost, and the limited portfolio continues to be felt in the long term, with a knock-on effect in terms of plant performance. So now more and more Indian customers would like to pay a bit more for better technology and better quality products, and trust more on brand,” it added.

Another obvious trend is the emerging market of floating solar and rooftop. The Indian government has expressed intentions to launch a highly ambitious floating solar power program. Moreover, India’s rooftop market outpaced utility by adding more rooftop capacity in the last financial year than in the previous four years combined, making it the fastest-growing segment. In Q4 2018, 456MW rooftop systems were deployed in one single quarter, achieving a 32 percent share. Both these segments offer an easier entry point for Mono driven modules, as pricing is not tender led or free of price ceilings on the purchase price of power. 

The company’s newly launched mono PERC based Cheetah of up to 400 Wp and Swan bifacial technology of front plus rear side generation up to 435 Wp have been developed with this objective in mind and to meet the demand of these two application sectors.

Other key players in the segment are Jinko’s Chinese counterparts LONGi Solar, Canadian Solar and JA Solar.

However, industry insiders point out that with large projects still heavily under price pressure, India is unlikely to rush to mono or even Mono PERC, and the process would be an extended one, even as India based manufacturers try to catch up