South Africa’s top solar panels and batteries

JA Solar and Canadian Solar are South Africa’s most popular solar panel brands, while local player Freedom Won dominates in preferred battery brands.

That is according to a survey of 288 solar installers and engineering, procurement, and construction companies (EPCs) conducted by Jaltech Fund Management in 2024.

The survey gathered insights into the local alternative energy landscape, including key factors such as market focus, operation and maintenance services offered, and preferred suppliers.

Regarding the latter, survey participants were asked what brands of solar panels and batteries they preferred to use.

JA Solar was the top choice, with around 24% of respondents favouring the brand.

The Beijing-based company was founded in 2005 and is estimated to be the fourth-largest panel manufacturer in the world, having shipped roughly 60GW to 65GW of solar panel capacity in 2023.

Outside of China, its major markets include Germany, Italy, Sweden, Spain, South Korea, and the United States.

The company has drawn some criticism in the past, with a 2023 report by Sheffield Hallam University finding it had “very high” exposure to production in the Xinjiang province, infamous for its forced Uyghur labour.

Last month, the US government banned a subsidiary of JA Solar from shipping products to the country under its forced labour legislation.

The second most popular brand was Canadian Solar, the world’s fifth-largest producer, with roughly 30GW in shipments in 2023. About 21% of the respondents preferred this brand.

Canadian Solar was founded by Dr. Shawn Qu and is headquartered in Toronto.

However, it has also been criticised for operating solar farms near a Uyghur internment camp in Xinjiang.

While the company denied any of its production facilities used forced labour, it sold the two farms in 2023.

The third most popular response in the survey was “agnostic.” That showed that many solar power installers did not have a preference for a specific panel brand.

Most of the remaining popular brands in the survey were also Chinese — Jinko Solar, Trina Solar, and Longi.

These three brands are the world’s top three biggest panel manufacturers by shipment volume, with around 70GW in panels shipped in 2023.

All the brands that featured in the majority of responses were Tier 1 manufacturers.

That means an independent PV analyst has considered several criteria in their product and business processes and the manufacturers had rated highly in:

• Experience
• Financial position
• Manufacturing scale
• Deployment scale
• Durability and quality
• Technical Performance
• Vertical integration
• Insurance and backing
• Service and support

The only South African solar panel brand featured in the survey was Durban-based ArtSolar.

While it does not have a Tier 1 designation itself, it uses solar panel materials and components from Tier 1 manufacturers, including Longi and Talesun.

Locally-made battery king

When it came to preferred battery brands, South African brand Freedom Won was the most popular choice by far, with 30% of respondents using its packs.

Founded in 2011, Freedom Won has the largest lithium-iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery assembly plant in South Africa.

Located in Modderfontein, Edenvale, the 48,000m² facility can produce up to 3.5GWh of energy storage annually.

It should be highlighted that all battery assemblers in South Africa still rely on cells made in China, for which there are no local manufacturing capabilities.

Other battery brands that featured prominently were Dyness, Hubble, and Volta.

The survey’s findings largely correlated with responses MyBroadband recently received from major solar power companies AWPower, Rubicon, and Solar Advice.

However, they also mentioned several other battery brands which they believed were of high quality and offered reliable performance.

The table below summarises the most popular solar panel and battery brands based on a survey of installers and EPCs and direct feedback to MyBroadband.