In this article we are going to list the 5 biggest solar companies in the world. For a detailed coverage of this topic and a more comprehensive list please take a look at the 10 biggest solar companies in the world.
5. Brookfield (NYSE:BAM)
Total solar capacity of the company in 2019 (in MW): 5,690
Brookfield is the biggest solar company in the United States and is a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management and is its renewable energy arm. The company is involved in multiple renewable resources which include wind, hydroelectric and solar sources. The total capacity of the company is around 19,317 MW and has more than 5,300 generating facilities in several continents including Europe, North America, Asia and South America. The company signed an agreement to begin work on a 1.2 GW solar development project located in Brazil, which is expected to be completed by 2023.
4. Enel
Total solar capacity of the company in 2019 (in MW): 5,995
Enel is one of the biggest electric companies in the world and the Italian company was founded 58 years ago in 1962. Enel also built the first large scale linear Fresnel reflected concentrated solar power plant in 1981 after receiving help from the European Economic Community. Enel Green Power has a presence in at least 27 countries across the world in 5 continents and has established over 1,200 power plants globally as well. Just a while ago, Enel won a 25 year energy supply contract to build a solar power plant in the state of Rajasthan which is the company’s first foray into India. It is also working on a solar PV plant in Chile in a project which will increase the capacity of the plant by 126 MW. Further, at the start of the current year, the company began operations in Brazil to established a 450 MW plant, which will require more than $390 million.
3. SB Energy
Total solar capacity of the company in 2019 (in MW): 6,972
Several of the biggest solar companies in the world are subsidiaries of already major companies and SB Energy is no exception, being a subsidiary of the Softbank Group. SB Energy is a Japanese company and recently secured 600MW of capacity in a project in India worth 2 GW. The company has operations in Japan, India and the United States, with some its projects including Juno in the United States, Titan in the United States, Kurnool in India and Athos I and Athos II in the United States.
2. GCL
Total solar capacity of the company in 2019 (in MW): 7,145
GCL is the largest solar company in Hong Kong, and was founded just 24 years ago in 1996. It is a subsidiary of the GCL Group, which is also the parent company of GCL Poly and produces as well as supplies solar materials. The company has a presence across most of China while also having subsidiaries in many other countries which include Africa, Japan and North America. The company has a presence in the US as well as its operations in China. In June 2020, a subsidiary of the company sold at least a 75% of a project of around 100 MW solar project in China.
1. Adani Renewables
Total solar capacity of the company in 2019 (in MW): 12,320
Easily topping the list of the 5 biggest solar companies in the world is Adani Renewables, which was established in 1988 and is headquartered in Hyderabad, India. The company operates one of the biggest solar PV plants in the entire world in the Kamuthi Solar Power Project. It is a subsidiary of the Adani Group, a conglomerate which has a presence in 70 locations across 50 countries, which have earned it revenues of around $15 billion and a market cap of around $30 billion. It is also the only Investment Grade Infrastructure issuer in India. It has commissioned some of the biggest projects across the world, in addition to the Kamuthi Project I have already mentioned. In June 2020, Adani Green won a bid to develop solar PV projects of around 8 GW, which is the biggest win in a single bid in the history of the industry. This will lead to addition investment in the company worth around $6 billion. In March 2020, Adani Green Energy also entered into an agreement with Total Solar Singapore to develop solar PV projects of 2.1 GW.