China’s photovoltaic industry is suffering from severe overcapacity, leading to a brutal price war and substantial losses for solar companies since 2024. In an attempt to cut costs, domestic photovoltaic firms have resorted to cutting corners, resulting in a flood of substandard products into the market and a significant drop in overall quality. In the past few months, there has been a surge in fire incidents related to photovoltaic power generation projects. Analysts point out four major risks associated with substandard photovoltaic products.
According to reports from various media outlets such as “Century New Energy Network,” “Polaris Solar Photovoltaic Network,” and “Energy No.1 Network,” during the “Seminar on the Development Review and Outlook of the Photovoltaic Industry in the First Half of 2025,” the National Photovoltaic Product Quality Inspection and Testing Center (referred to as the “National Photovoltaic Quality Inspection Center”) revealed that from 2019 to 2024, the overall qualification rate of photovoltaic modules dropped from 100% to 62.9%, a nearly 40 percentage point decrease. This indicates that over one-third of photovoltaic components in the market have quality issues.
In the first half of 2025, out of 69 batches of components inspected from 36 companies, the non-conformance rate approached 16%. This includes 11 batches with non-conforming components, 5 batches with non-conforming mechanical loads, 8 batches failing to meet conversion efficiency standards, and 3 batches falling short in power output.
However, as reported by “Energy No.1 Network,” the actual situation of the qualification rate for photovoltaic modules may be even worse. Some central enterprises’ procurement departments mentioned that in 2024, their own component testing showed a qualification rate of less than 40%, which further increased during this year’s reassessment.
Data from the National Photovoltaic Quality Inspection Center also showed that out of 10 batches of photovoltaic glass surveyed for component safety performance, 3 batches were deemed non-compliant.
Similarly, the qualification rate for frame products has further decreased. Issues such as reduced frame film thickness and thinner dimensions have become increasingly prominent. In the latest investigation involving 20 batches, the qualification rate dropped below 50%.
Moreover, in recent years, the qualification rates for products like welding tapes, POE films, EVA films, and EPE films have significantly declined. For instance, out of 61 batches of sampled welding tapes, 26 were found to be non-compliant. The qualification rate for POE films stands at approximately 80%, EVA films at 85%, and EPE films falling below 80%.
Notably, the issue of junction boxes is particularly severe, with the qualification rate for 29 test batches falling below 50%. High failure rates were observed in bypass diode thermal performance and thermal runaway tests, posing significant combustion safety hazards.
The severe overcapacity in China’s photovoltaic industry has led to supply-demand imbalances. Since the industry entered a “cold winter” in 2023, the market has witnessed consecutive price wars, with photovoltaic enterprises struggling with losses. In the first half of this year, five major photovoltaic giants – Trina Solar, Longi Green Energy, JA Solar, CETC Solar, and TCL Solar – collectively reported losses of 17.3 billion yuan.
According to research from CICC, by the end of 2024, the production capacities of key segments in the photovoltaic industry, including silicon wafers, silicon cells, solar panels, and modules, had all exceeded by more than double the demand.
The surplus capacity has triggered intense price wars. Wang Bohua, the honorary chairman of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, stated that the average prices of polysilicon, silicon wafers, solar cells, and modules have decreased significantly since 2020 – by 88.3%, 89.6%, 80.8%, and 66.4%, respectively.
In 2025, China’s photovoltaic industry has undergone a significant reshuffle, with over 50 photovoltaic companies entering bankruptcy liquidation and reorganization processes. The average capacity utilization rate in the industry has fallen below the critical line of 58%, and photovoltaic module prices have plummeted from being affordable to “paying to give away,” plunging the entire sector into a vicious cycle of “the more you produce, the more you lose.”
Cao Renxian, the chairman of the Photovoltaic Industry Association, stated at the National Photovoltaic Conference in 2024 that the industry is bleeding out with extremely low profit margins, almost no profits to speak of, and companies bidding below cost, leading to a self-destructive pattern.
Apart from the widespread price wars prevalent among Chinese enterprises, the unique characteristics of the photovoltaic industry further exacerbate the situation.
The analysis from Century New Energy Network reveals that price transmission in the photovoltaic industry chain follows a reverse logic of “pricing determined by end-user demand → transmission in the midstream → adaptation in the upstream.” Under market-based electricity prices, the profitability ceiling for end-user power stations is fixed, limiting the scope for module price increases.
As downstream power stations struggle to accept higher module prices, midstream companies, to control costs and retain orders, are forced to resort to “material downgrading” and “cutting corners,” eventually falling into a vicious cycle of “winning bids with low prices -> declining quality -> collapsing reputation.”
To support cost reduction through lower prices, some companies have started adjusting the specifications of core materials: for example, reducing glass thickness and shrinking frame thickness, resulting in a batch of substandard products entering the market.
The presence of more than one-third of substandard photovoltaic products inevitably leads to severe safety incidents. Combining information from the National Energy Information Platform, China Energy Network, and social platforms like Douyin, journalists have compiled a list of photovoltaic fire incidents that have occurred this year.
A search for “photovoltaic fire incidents” on the Douyin platform in August alone revealed 10 related videos, including several showing photovoltaic fires on rural rooftops, with scenes of intense smoke and flames. A blogger with the handle “Life is Better” posted a video after a photovoltaic fire, showcasing a scene of destruction, with meters and electrical boxes charred, and various appliances scattered on the ground.
The blogger remarked, “This is a bloody lesson. If you haven’t installed photovoltaics, please don’t do it now. Even after the fire, the photovoltaic company hasn’t sent anyone. It’s extremely irresponsible.”
On July 21, a roof-mounted photovoltaic panel at the Fenhao Energy Phase I plant in Jintan District, Jiangsu Province, caught fire, marking the second fire incident in less than a year.
On May 21, a photovoltaic fire broke out on the top of the Hongmei South Road viaduct in Shanghai. The photovoltaic project atop the viaduct, serving as a sound barrier, was China’s first “photovoltaic + elevated noise barrier” integrated demonstration project that commenced grid interconnection on April 30th.
In April, a fire erupted at a factory belonging to a certain car electronics company in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, with the accident area measuring about 210 square meters. The fire was triggered by a fault in the wiring beneath the photovoltaic panel, spreading to combustible materials below.
In March, a fire broke out in a factory building in the Economic Development Zone of Yongkang City, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province. Initial investigations indicated that the fire originated from the connection of the external wall to the rooftop photovoltaic panels.
On January 28, a fire impacted a photovoltaic power station on the roof of a warehouse in Yicheng District, Zhumadian City, Henan Province. Nearly all the installed photovoltaic components on the warehouse roof were consumed by the fire.
On January 2, a fire incident occurred at the Xingxiang Power Engineering Co., Ltd. in Lijin County, Dongying City, resulting in a direct financial loss of 2.85 million yuan. The investigation revealed that the fire was caused by an electric heating fault in the solar photovoltaic panel and its connecting circuit, igniting the surrounding combustible materials.
The article on Century New Energy Network mentioned that substandard photovoltaic products pose four major risks:
1. Insufficient wind and snow load capacity of modules: Under extreme weather conditions such as typhoons or heavy snow, modules may break or deform, potentially leading to structural collapse if installed on support frames.
2. Failure to meet conversion efficiency/power standards, resulting in fire hazards: Low-efficiency modules may cause uneven circuit loads, leading to localized overheating, thereby increasing the risk of fires. Significant deviations in power output from design values might also cause compatibility issues with equipment like inverters, triggering electrical faults.
3. Non-compliant photovoltaic glass increases the risk of electric shocks or fires: Cracked glass can allow moisture and dust to penetrate the module, leading to short circuits and leakage.
4. Inadequate frame thickness can decrease support strength, leading to module detachment from support brackets; insufficient film thickness can reduce corrosion resistance, hastening rust and corrosion when exposed to outdoor conditions. This not only shortens the frame’s lifespan but may also allow rust fragments to penetrate the module, compromising electrical insulation. Non-compliant films may become brittle and crack rapidly under prolonged ultraviolet exposure, reducing the module’s lifespan from the intended 25 years to less than 10 years.