A.B. Energy vs Thornova Solar - solar panel manufacturer comparison
Both brands are closely matched on catalog size, efficiency and bifacial share - the choice comes down to local availability, price and specific model features.
Both catalogues are read from the manufacturers' own datasheets. A brand is not scored against the market here, only against the other brand on this page.
The two companies
ABO Energy is a renewable energy company that develops and constructs renewable energy projects, focusing on wind, solar, and storage facilities. They offer turnkey solutions and have connected several gigawatts of nominal output to the grid. The company is active internationally and is committed to driving the energy...
- Founded
- 1996
- Headquarters
- Wiesbaden, Germany
- Employees
- 1,400
Thornova Solar, formerly known as Sunova Solar Technology Co., Ltd., is a Chinese manufacturer of high-efficiency photovoltaic modules and solar cells with production facilities in China and Indonesia. The company specializes in advanced solar panel technology and holds BNEF Tier 1 bankable module manufacturer status...
- Founded
- 2016
- Headquarters
- Wuxi, China
- Annual capacity
- 5-10 GW/year
- Employees
- 500-1000
- Tier 1 bankable
- Yes
Catalogue against catalogue
An average over a catalogue describes the range a manufacturer publishes, not the module you would buy. A brand with two flagship panels and eighty older ones averages worse than one that has retired its back catalogue.
What each of them builds
Written summary
Thornova Solar is a Chinese-rooted manufacturer - its modules are produced through the Sunova Solar group, with manufacturing operations in Vietnam and cell production facilities in Sichuan province, China. The brand was elevated to Bloomberg NEF Tier 1 module manufacturer status in the third quarter of 2023, a recognition it has maintained continuously since, and it operates with a combined module production capacity reported at 5.5 GW alongside a 9 GW cell facility. A.B. Energy, by contrast, did not surface in any of the standard industry databases, trade publications, or bankability registries consulted - pv-tech.org, pv-magazine.com, the BNEF Tier 1 lists, energysage.com, and solarreviews.com returned no results for the brand as a solar panel manufacturer. On institutional footprint alone, Thornova Solar holds a clear and verifiable advantage.
Thornova's publicly documented product range spans residential rooftops through to utility-scale ground mounts, with power outputs from around 440 W up to 720 W. The company has launched n-type TOPCon bifacial modules on large-format G12 wafers for utility and commercial applications, and its Tangra M Pro series earned recognition as Overall Highest Achiever in the RETC PV Module Index and a Kiwa PVEL 2025 Top Performer designation across all seven reliability categories. Because no comparable product data could be located for A.B. Energy through independent or trade sources, no parallel product-technology description is possible without inventing figures.
For any buyer evaluating these two brands in 2025, the practical choice defaults to Thornova Solar - it carries confirmed BNEF bankability, documented third-party reliability certifications, and broad distributor availability in North American and European markets. A.B. Energy cannot be meaningfully evaluated on the same terms given the absence of verifiable public information, and buyers should seek direct technical documentation and bank-financeability confirmation before committing to modules from that brand.
Generated by Claude Sonnet · 2026-06-10
Other brand comparisons
Comparisons are computed from manufacturer datasheets held in the ComparePV database and may not reflect a brand's complete current lineup. Nothing on this page is paid placement.