JA Solar Ships Modules to Morocco

JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. ( JASO - Analyst Report ) has begun shipments of 2 MW of solar modules to Jet Energy International for its solar power plant located in Kenitra, Morocco. The plant will be equipped with 7,150 pieces of JA polycrystalline modules.

Jet Energy International, a Morocco-based affiliate of JetAlu Morocco, is the engineering, procurement, and construction (“EPC”) service provider of the project. The 2 MW project is expected to be the largest ground mount photovoltaic power plant in North Africa. With an electric generation capacity of 3.5 million kWh per year, the power plant will on average offset more than 2,100 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions on an annual basis. The project is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2013.

This project will help the company in expanding its footprint in North Africa. The company seems to be expanding into the emerging markets as well. Recently, JA Solar began shipments of 35 MW of solar PV modules to Siemens Aktiengesellschaft ( SI - Analyst Report ) for five solar projects in Israel. The company will supply 122,936 high-efficiency polycrystalline PV modules, each having an average output of 290 Wp.

In a climate of environmental awareness, the solar market is seeing traction worldwide. Just as a customer seeks top-quality products and reliable customer service, solar module makers like JA Solar are focused on providing high-quality offerings with great customer service. This creates a perfect demand-supply equation between the two parties.

Recently, the entire range of JA Solar’s modules received Underwriters Laboratories (“UL”) 1703 certification and ETL certification in the United States and Canada. Post-certification, the company’s modules are permitted to be used on 1,000 Vdc systems. Also, a few days back, the company’s PV modules series have successfully cleared salt mist corrosion and sulfur dioxide corrosion tests. These tests confirm that JA Solar's products offer exceptional reliability even in severe environments.

JA Solar is expected to release is fourth quarter and full year 2012 results on Mar 25, 2013. The Zacks Consensus Estimates for fourth quarter and full year 2012 are currently at ($1.30) per share and ($5.55) per share, respectively.

JA Solar is one of the most cost-efficient solar producers with a geographically-diversified customer base. The company caters to a geographically diversified pan-continental customer base, spanning across Germany, Italy, the U.S., Spain, India, Korea, China and Japan.

Of late, JA Solar has been able to manufacture high quality, high efficiency products at lower costs in comparison to most of its peers on the back of technological innovations. Moreover, with a steadfast focus on research and development, JA Solar is consistently improving on the efficiency of solar cell conversion.

However, we remain concerned due to the tepid module demand in Europe, rising competition, wafer dependency, the financial stability of its customers and the oversupply of solar cells in the market. The company presently retains a short-term Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Other stocks that can be taken into consideration are Canadian Solar Inc. ( CSIQ - Analyst Report ) and ReneSola Ltd. ( SOL - Analyst Report ) , both with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).