JinkoSolar acknowledges US shipment issues as it upgrades module capacity forecast, eyes n-type expansion

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Robot assembly at one of JinkoSolar’s production facilities. Image: JinkoSolar

Leading ‘Solar Module Super League’ manufacturer JinkoSolar has said it is addressing the reliability of shipments to the US market, while also upgrading its module capacity forecast for this year and teasing an expansion of n-type cell capacity.

Reporting its Q2 2021 results today, Jinko chairman and chief executive officer Xiande Li said the company was undergoing various initiatives to strengthen its long-term business prospects and “increase the reliability of our services to the US market”, an apparent nod to issues the SMSL manufacturer has purportedly faced in shipping to the US from its Malaysian fab.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

ROTH Capital has previously reported that shipments from JinkoSolar’s facility in Malaysia have been seized by US Customs and Border Protection in connection with the withhold release order issued by the US Department of Commerce prohibiting the import of silicon products linked to polysilicon provider Hoshine Silicon Industry and its subsidiaries, reports which have been corroborated elsewhere.

Multiple gigawatts of shipments bound for the US market are said to have been implicated.

Among the initiatives undertaken by Jinko to address the issue, Li noted the company had formed a number of strategic co-operations with other upstream solar manufacturers such as Tongwei and Xinte, and had also penned a five-year polysilicon supply deal with Wacker Chemie, which has poly production facilities in both the US and Germany.

Jinko further stated that its wafering facility outside of China had started construction last month, the output from which will service other production facilities in Malaysia and the US as soon as production ramps.

Traceability systems for both material procurement and production had also been improved, Li said.

Shipments down sequentially as Jinko recalibrates output

Jinko said it shipped 5.2GW of solar products in Q2 2021, consisting of 3.97GW of solar modules and 1.22GW of cells and wafers. The company noted it had adjusted its sales and production balance in response to spiking polysilicon prices, reducing its solar module production volume while simultaneously increasing sales of silicon wafers as pricing remained high.

While total shipments were up 16.4% year-on-year, they fell 2.8% sequentially, indicating the fluctuating demand for products in the second quarter.

However Jinko has noted that end market demand for modules was “gradually resuming”, and the company had “increased remarkably” its module production volume month-over-month throughout the third quarter, however no specific figure on utilisation rates was provided.

Total revenues for the second quarter stood at RMB7.93 billion (US$1.2 billion), with gross profit standing at RMB1.36 billion (US$210.5 million). Both figures were down year-on-year.

The manufacturer’s gross margin for the quarter was 17.1%, the same figure recorded in the opening quarter of the year.

Q3 2021 shipments are forecasted to be in the range of 5 – 5.5GW, 4.5 – 5GW of which is suggested to be solar modules), with total revenue for the quarter expected to fall in the range of US$1.24 – 1.37 billion. Gross margin for the quarter is expected to be between 12 – 15%, down on the ~17% margin recorded so far this year.

JinkoSolar is forecasting for full-year shipments of solar modules, cells and wafers to be in the range of 25 – 30GW, however no specific split between the product types was provided. This guidance is reaffirmed from the figure provided at the start of the financial year.

Capacity expansion plans – cut after Q1 – upgraded again

JinkoSolar has, however, readdressed its capacity expansion plans for the year just one quarter after previously scaling them back.

During its 2020 full year results disclosure JinkoSolar said it expected to finish 2021 with solar wafer, cell and module production capacities of 33GW, 27GW and 37GW respectively. At the firm’s Q1 2021 results disclosure in June this was scaled back to 30GW, 24GW and 32GW, but Jinko has now stated its expected end-of-year capacities will be scaled back up, with a significant increase in module capacity now expected.

JinkoSolar expects to finish 2021 with solar wafer, cell and module capacity of 32.5GW, 24GW and 45GW respectively.

Of its cell capacity as of 30 June 2021 of 12GW, Jinko said 940MW was n-type. However this is expected to expand in the year ahead, with Jinko stating it was expanding its investment plan for n-type cell capacity based on the company’s “technical advantages” and two years of experience in n-type mass production.

No specific figure for n-type capacity expansion was provided.

At SNEC 2021 earlier this year PV Tech spoke exclusively to Xinyu Zhang, R&D director at JinkoSolar, about the manufacturer’s forays into n-type technologies.

Read Next

June 26, 2025
PV solar cell manufacturer Halocell Energy has launched its first perovskite-based product called the Halocell Ambient Modules.
June 25, 2025
JinkoSolar has submitted a 133.76MWc solar-plus-storage project in New South Wales to the federal government under the EPBC Act.
June 25, 2025
First Solar has sold US$311.8 million in tax credits to “a leading financial institution” under the rules set out in the IRA.
June 24, 2025
Chinese solar manufacturing giant LONGi has signed an agreement with Indonesia’s Pertamina New & Renewable Energy to build a 1.4GW module assembly plant in West Java, Indonesia.
June 24, 2025
The Chinese polysilicon industry could face a shortage by 2028, despite persistent overcapacity in recent years, according to polysilicon market analyst Bernreuter Research.
June 23, 2025
Waaree Energies will relocate its proposed 6GW vertically-integrated manufacturing facility for ingots, wafers, cells, and modules in India.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
July 2, 2025
Bangkok, Thailand
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico