China’s JinkoSolar states it achieved 1GW+ in distribution shipments to Australia of the company’s solar panels for 2024. That’s a lot of modules.
To provide an idea of how many units that might be, if they averaged 440-watts each, it would work out to around 2.27 million in one gigawatt. It’s a huge number, but it doesn’t mean all those panels have been installed or even purchased as the firm has dedicated warehouses in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. And they may not all wind up on the rooftops of homes and businesses. Some panels in larger wattages may be destined for utility-scale projects.
Tiger Neo 440W The Star
Describing the achievement as “a new chapter in JinkoSolar’s journey in Australia”, the company pointed to its Tiger Neo 440-watt series in particular as playing a significant role in its success here.
The Tiger Neo JKM440N-54HL4-V listed on SolarQuotes’ solar panel comparison table is a monofacial N-Type panel offering 22.53% conversion efficiency, and has a temperature coefficient of Pmax of -0.30%/℃. This module weighs 22kg and measures 1722 × 1134 ×30 mm. The JKM440N-54HL4-V is accompanied by a 25-year product warranty in Australia and a 30-year linear performance warranty.
It’s also as cheap as chips; with an estimated retail price of as little as $125 – that’s just 29 cents per watt. The flip side of this is that being so cheap, they are at times used by shonky installers. How long such low prices from Jinko and other Chinese manufacturers will go on for is anyone’s guess, but ongoing cutthroat competition led the company’s CEO to complain last year about “increasingly irrational low prices” plaguing the industry.
Still, Jinko remains upbeat about the future and very positive about its ongoing involvement in the Australian solar scene, where it has had a presence since 2012. Jinko’s Australian head office is in Sydney.
“Our Australian installer network has been instrumental in shaping our product development,” said Michael Wang, General Manager at JinkoSolar OC (Australia Region). “Their feedback and expertise have allowed us to deliver solutions that are perfectly tailored to the needs of the Australian market.”
Indicative of the ongoing popularity of firm’s panels here, SQ’s JinkoSolar panel reviews page has 3,732 customer ratings averaging 4.8 stars overall, and 4.9 stars from 787 ratings over the last 12 months. As well as end users, its modules are popular with Australian installers. In this year’s SolarQuotes Installers Choice Awards, the firm took out bronze for the best solar panels in 2025; with silver going to REC (a premium-priced brand) and gold to Aiko (pricing towards the budget end of the spectrum). This result was based on responses to the question asked of installers in SQ’s network:
“If installing a system on your own house today, what brands would you use?”
Previously, installers were asked for their votes in two categories; “Money No Object” and “Every Dollar Counts”. From 2021 through 2024, Jinko solar panels took second place for the latter.
Jinko’s Patent Wars Rage On
In other recent news from JinkoSolar, its patent wars continue – this time with the Australian arm of Longi.
“Asserting our commitment to protecting our intellectual property, JinkoSolar has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Longi in Australia,” stated the firm yesterday. “This action follows similar legal steps in China and Japan, highlighting our dedication to safeguarding our advancements in solar technology. We remain steadfast in our pursuit of innovation and the defense of our industry-leading patents.”
The nature of the patent in question wasn’t described, but the action in China was in relation to tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cell technology.
Over the years, JinkoSolar has also found itself as the defendant/respondent in patent lawsuits. Solar manufacturers suing each other is commonplace and likely keeps many lawyers off the streets.
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