AE Solar vs SolarWorld - solar panel manufacturer comparison
AE Solar has the broader catalog (646 vs 0 models). AE Solar leans bifacial (63% of lineup).
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
AE Solar is a German Tier 1 manufacturer of high-efficiency photovoltaic (PV) modules. The company specializes in producing durable and innovative solar panels with German engineering standards, offering solutions for residential, commercial, and utility-scale applications. AE Solar operates in over 100 countries and...
- Founded
- 2003
- Headquarters
- Gersthofen, Germany
- Annual capacity
- 2+ GW/year
- Employees
- 501-1000
- Tier 1 bankable
- Yes
SolarWorld AG was a German photovoltaic manufacturer and one of the largest solar panel producers in the Western world, covering the full value chain from polysilicon feedstock to finished modules. The company operated major manufacturing plants in Freiberg, Germany and Hillsboro, Oregon, USA, and was once a leading...
- Founded
- 1998
- Headquarters
- Bonn, Germany
- Annual capacity
- 1-2 GW/year
- Employees
- 3000-5000
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
AE Solar skews to higher efficiency: 9% of lineup is 23%+
AE Solar offers more 600W+ panels (13% of lineup)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>TOPCon</strong> (54%)
The flagships
Written summary
AE Solar is a German-headquartered manufacturer - registered as AE Solar Energy GmbH - with production facilities in China, Georgia, and Turkey, and a combined annual output of approximately 2.5 GW. The company has appeared on BloombergNEF's Global Tier 1 PV Module Manufacturer list 16 consecutive times, most recently in Q1 2025, placing it among the most bankable mid-tier producers in Europe and making it a credible choice for project finance. SolarWorld, by contrast, was a pioneering German brand founded in 1975 that effectively ceased to exist as a manufacturer. The original SolarWorld AG filed for insolvency in May 2017, and its immediate successor, SolarWorld Industries GmbH, filed for insolvency again in early 2018. The US subsidiary, SolarWorld Americas, was subsequently acquired by SunPower, but its factory in Hillsboro, Oregon closed in 2021. No active production under the SolarWorld name is currently taking place, and the brand carries no present BloombergNEF Tier 1 standing. In terms of institutional footprint, AE Solar is the only viable option of the two for buyers sourcing new modules.
AE Solar's current lineup spans several cell technologies, addressing a broad range of applications. The Meteor series is built on N-type TOPCon cells and targets commercial rooftop and utility-scale ground-mount projects where efficiency and bifacial energy yield are priorities. The Aurora family relies on PERC technology and covers a wide power range suited to residential rooftops and smaller commercial and industrial installations. The Comet series uses HJT cells, making it a strong candidate for heat-sensitive environments or space-constrained roofs. The Terra and Horizon lines serve agrivoltaic and vertical-mounting applications such as noise barriers and solar carports respectively. The company received a Kiwa PVEL Top Performer Award in 2025 and earned a five-star rating from pv magazine for its Meteor flagship module, adding independent third-party validation to its quality claims. SolarWorld has no current product portfolio to evaluate.
For any buyer assessing a new solar installation today, this comparison is not genuinely competitive. AE Solar is an active, Tier 1-listed manufacturer with a current and technology-diverse product range; SolarWorld is a legacy brand that exited the market through two successive insolvencies. Owners of older systems fitted with SolarWorld panels should note that warranty claims are unlikely to be honored by any successor entity and may wish to explore third-party warranty insurance where it is available.
Generated by Claude Sonnet · 2026-05-14
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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.