For the largest global suppliers of solar modules, 2024 was “a year of survival through scale,” said Wood Mackenzie head of global solar supply chain Yana Hryshko.
Wood Mackenzie said the top ten suppliers had a record year, shipping about 500 GW of product, nearly double the total for 2023. However, these ten companies collectively reported $4 billion in losses as revenues declined significantly year-over-year.
Aggressive pricing, intense competition and continued capital investment shrank margins as companies pursued long-term leadership in market share and technology, said the report.
“Despite financial headwinds, the solar manufacturing industry is quickly repositioning for the next cycle of global growth,” said Hryshko. “Technology leadership, supply chain control, and geographic agility will define the winners in the years ahead.”
Wood Mackenzie provided a top-ten scored ranking of module suppliers based on weighted criteria. These weighted criteria ranged from 5% to 15% of the overall score and included capacity utilization, technology maturity, adherence to ESG and corporate social responsibility, availability of third-party certification, financial condition, module manufacturing experience in production, supply chain resistance, vertical integration, module manufacturing experience in years, and research and development.
The rankings assessed 40 leading manufacturers across 11 countries. These companies represented 62% of global production capacity and 89% of shipments in 2024.
Based on these weighted criteria, Wood Mackenzie ranked solar manufacturers in 2024 as follows:
| Rank | Manufacturer | Final score out of 100 |
| 1 | Jinko Solar | 90.6 |
| 2 | JA Solar | 89.6 |
| 3 | Longi Green Energy | 86.5 |
| 4 | Canadian Solar | 84.0 |
| 4 | Trina Solar | 83.7 |
| 5 | DMEGC solar | 83.0 |
| 6 | Astronergy | 78.2 |
| 7 | Boviet Solar | 76.3 |
| 8 | Risen Energy | 74.2 |
| 8 | Qcells | 73.9 |
| 9 | Adani Solar | 72.8 |
| 10 | TCL Solar | 70.0 |
| 10 | Tongwei | 70.7 |
The top 10 manufacturers maintained an average utilization rate of 69% in 2024, which Wood Mackenzie said was a strong performance amid challenging market dynamics.
The report said the rankings this year introduced a new criterion assessing the ability of suppliers to navigate rising trade tensions and diversify their supply chains. Seven of the top 10 manufacturers now operate production facilities in three or more countries including Cambodia, India, Malaysia, Mexico, and Vietnam. It said that several of the top 20 companies are expected to expand manufacturing into Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Qatar, and the UAE.
“Establishing production across multiple countries allows manufacturers to navigate tariffs, local content mandates, and import barriers,” said Hryshko. “It’s a strategic move to remain competitive in an increasingly fragmented global landscape.”
Vertical integration continues to be another area of focus as module suppliers invest upstream. Integrating cell manufacturing is now standard among top-tier manufacturers, it said, and several companies are now accelerating investment into wafer manufacturing.
“This strategy enables tighter control over cost, quality, and compliance, especially in a complex trade environment,” said Hryshko.
The push toward N-type solar modules continued in 2024, with several top-tier manufacturers moving to shipping a majority of N-type products in the year. Jinko Solar, the largest supplier, reported that 87% of its product shipped in 2024 was N-type format.
TOPCon remained the leading advanced cell type, with average conversion efficiencies exceeding 24%, said the report. Heterojunction and back contact technologies also reached 24% and 25% average efficiency, said Wood Mackenzie.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.