Despite challenging market conditions, Canadian Solar exceeded previous solar module shipment forecasts in the second quarter of this year, according to the company’s most recent financial report.
The company has two business segments: Recurrent Energy and CSI Solar. Recurrent Energy focuses on developing clean energy projects, while CSI Solar manufactures utility-scale solar panels and battery storage and delivers total system solutions.
CSI managed 8.2 GW of solar module shipments in the second quarter, slightly above the high end of the quarter’s forecast of 8.0 GW. Second-quarter shipping earnings increased 30% sequentially but remained flat year-over-year. CSI’s net sales (total) fell 31% year-over-year to $1.6 billion in the second quarter; This reflects a decline in the average selling price of modules and lower project sales, partially offset by higher sales of utility-scale battery storage solutions.
The top five countries for the company’s panels, ranked by shipment, were China, the United States, Pakistan, Germany and Brazil. Of the total capacity in the second quarter, 135 MW went to Canadian Solar’s own solar energy projects.
Total module deliveries in the range of 9.0 GW to 9.5 GW are expected for the third quarter of this year; About 100 MW of this will flow into Canadian Solar’s own projects. If CSI reaches the upper end of the range, it will be well above the 8.3 GW of Q3 2023.
In the report, CSI Solar also presented a set of revised targets for expanding production capacity.
| Actual GW June 2024 |
Planned GW September 2024 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Ingots | 20.4 | 25.0 |
| wafers | 28.0 | 31.0 |
| cell | 48.4 | 48.4 |
| module | 60.0 | 61.0 |
In its report for the first quarter of 2024, the company had planned significant further expansion in the areas of ingots, wafers and cells for the period from June to December. But it looks like those plans have been put on hold for now; The planned capacities for December remain unchanged compared to September. However, the company notes that capacity expansion plans are subject to change without notice depending on market conditions and capital allocation plans.
Since the company’s founding in 2001, Canadian Solar has shipped more than 133 GW of solar modules worldwide.
Falling prices for polysilicon bring relief
Solar panel manufacturing has always been a cutthroat business, but recently it has been particularly brutal. Commenting on the second quarter results, Yan Zhuang, President of CSI Solar, said:
“Amidst fierce industry competition, we maintained our focus on profitability while increasing volumes this quarter. As polysilicon prices continued to decline, the resulting price reductions throughout the upstream supply chain helped reduce manufacturing costs.”
Polysilicon prices fell sharply again after April this year. According to Bernreuter Research, the price of Chinese P-type silicon fell from about $7 per kilo to about $4 currently, and for N-type silicon fell from about $8.30 to just under $5 ( As of August 21st).
The global spot price of polysilicon was $5.77 per kg as of August 21, including polysilicon from outside China. That’s a big difference from a few years ago, when the impact of the pandemic and other factors caused global average spot prices to reach more than $39 per kilogram.
High-quality modules from China are currently as cheap as chips. Using Canadian Solar1 as an example, and according to SolarQuotes’ solar module comparison table, a 440W TOPHiKu 6 module has an Australian retail price of around AUD$140 – just 32 cents per watt.
Are Canadian solar panels suitable for Australian installations?
The company produces high-quality products in the budget price segment and is currently listed as a SolarQuotes recommended brand. At this year’s SQ Installers Choice Awards, the company took bronze for the best solar panels in 2024 in the budget category.
Reviews of Canadian solar panels from Australian customers who have them on their roofs have been generally positive. The company has averaged 4.8 stars across more than 2,000 reviews here on SQ and 4.9 stars in the last 12 months.
Footnotes
- Despite the name and although the company has its headquarters and manufacturing facilities there, the Canadian Solar panels available in Australia are not made in Canada, but most likely in China. ↩
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