IBK Securities said on the 11th that major global solar companies beginning to remove "solar" from their corporate names and brands is a sign that they are shifting from simple module manufacturing to business structures centered on power services and energy storage systems (ESS).
Lee Dong-uk of IBK Securities said, "JA integrating its group brand into 'JA,' and JinkoSolar Holding releasing a proposal to change its name to 'Jinko Holding,' shows the center of gravity in the solar industry is moving," adding, "It reflects the judgment that it is no longer easy to explain growth and corporate value with solar module manufacturing alone."
JinkoSolar shipped about 16 gigawatts (GW) of modules in the second quarter this year, but revenue fell 31% from a year earlier and the gross margin was only 4.2%. While it lowered its annual module shipment guidance from 75–85 GW to 60–70 GW, it is maintaining its goal of more than doubling ESS shipments from a year earlier.
The researcher noted, "As solar adoption increases, there is an abundance of daytime power, but the value of evening and nighttime power rises," adding, "Ultimately, the ability to shift power with ESS and secure prices through long-term power purchase agreements (PPA) and power trading becomes more important."
In particular, what is needed at AI data centers and the like is not the cheapest module, but power supplied reliably 24 hours a day.
The researcher suggested that for Korea's solar-related stocks, the selection criteria should be whether they can generate profits "outside the module," rather than whether they benefit from simple module price increases.
Hanwha Solutions(009830)(Qcells) is working with Microsoft (MS) to expand beyond existing module supply and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) into new generation near data centers, securing power flexibility, and the virtual power plant (VPP) space. OCI Holdings(010060) is also building, through its subsidiary OCI Energy, a long-term PPA-based 260-megawatt alternating current (MWac) solar project and a 120-megawatt (MW)/480-megawatt-hour (MWh) ESS project.
The researcher assessed, "Chinese major companies beginning to erase Solar from their names does not mean the end of the solar industry, but that the center of profits is moving from manufacturing to power."