ARTsolar vs New East Solar - solar panel manufacturer comparison
New East Solar has the broader catalog (30 vs 0 models). New East Solar leans bifacial (67% 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
New East Solar Energy (NE Solar) is a Cambodia-based solar cell and module manufacturer specializing in high-efficiency Mono and Poly PERC solar cells and modules. The company operates manufacturing facilities in Cambodia, Indonesia, and a new 2 GW factory in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. NE Solar holds a BNEF Tier 1...
- Headquarters
- Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Annual capacity
- 5-10 GW/year
- Employees
- 201-500
- 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
New East Solar skews to higher efficiency: 7% of lineup is 23%+
New East Solar offers more 600W+ panels (33% of lineup)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>TOPCon</strong> (67%)
The flagships
Written summary
ARTsolar is a South African manufacturer founded in 2010 and headquartered in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal. The company markets itself as South Africa's only locally owned solar panel assembler, with a production facility capable of up to 300-500 MW per year in partnership with Talesun Solar. ARTsolar does not appear on the BloombergNEF Tier 1 module manufacturer list, though it produces panels it describes as meeting Tier 1 quality standards through its Talesun and LONGi collaboration agreements. The company's "local manufacturer" positioning has been contested in South African courts, with legal proceedings in 2025 alleging that approximately 99% of panels sold under the ARTsolar brand are imported from China, which materially complicates any local-content procurement argument. New East Solar Energy (trading as NE Solar), by contrast, is headquartered in Cambodia with manufacturing in Indonesia and a new 2 GW factory in Phoenix, Arizona; the company has total production capacity of roughly 9 GW and earned a formal BNEF Tier 1 ranking in 2024, giving it significantly stronger institutional credibility for financed projects.
In terms of product focus, ARTsolar targets primarily the South African residential and utility market, offering monocrystalline modules suited to both rooftop and ground-mount applications. New East Solar covers a broader range - mono PERC, bifacial, and standard poly modules - serving utility-scale, industrial, commercial, and residential segments across multiple continents. NE Solar modules have also received PVEL Top Performer recognition, an independent reliability credential that ARTsolar does not appear to hold.
For most buyers outside South Africa, New East Solar is the more defensible default choice in 2025 - it carries verified BNEF Tier 1 bankability, greater manufacturing scale, and independent performance validation. ARTsolar may still be relevant for South African projects where domestic supply chains and after-sales support matter, but the ongoing import litigation introduces uncertainty that buyers and lenders should factor into their due diligence.
- NE Solar achieves BNEF Tier 1 ranking, opens Phoenix facility
- ARTsolar court case - 99% of panels alleged to be imported
- Court case tackles ARTsolar localisation claims - Oxpeckers
- ARTsolar expansion - TIKZN KwaZulu-Natal investment profile
- LONGi Solar partners with ARTsolar for South African market
Generated by Claude Sonnet · 2026-06-08
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.