Canadian Solar vs Gamko New Energy - solar panel manufacturer comparison
Canadian Solar has the broader catalog (292 vs 255 models). Canadian Solar leads on peak efficiency at 24.40%. Gamko New Energy leans bifacial (81% 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
Canadian Solar Inc. is a global renewable energy company founded in 2001. Headquartered in Kitchener, Ontario, it manufactures solar PV modules and provides battery energy storage solutions. The company also develops utility-scale solar power and battery energy storage projects.
- Founded
- 2001
- Headquarters
- Kitchener, Canada
- Annual capacity
- 51 GW/year
- Employees
- 17,113
- Listed
- NASDAQ: CSIQ
- Tier 1 bankable
- Yes
Gamko New Energy is a professional solar module manufacturer with a 10-year experience in production and quality control since 2008. They also provide technical services for solar power plants, including design, installation, and maintenance. In 2018, their production capacity reached 2GW.
- Founded
- 2008
- Headquarters
- Nantong, Jiangsu, China
- Annual capacity
- 1.2 GW/year
- Employees
- 201-300
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
Gamko New Energy skews to higher efficiency: 40% of lineup is 23%+
Canadian Solar offers more 600W+ panels (24% of lineup)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>PERC</strong> (67%)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>TOPCon</strong> (57%)
The flagships
Written summary
Canadian Solar was founded in 2001 by Dr. Shawn Qu in Ontario, Canada, and is publicly listed on NASDAQ under the ticker CSIQ, with primary manufacturing operations based in China. The company holds confirmed BloombergNEF Tier 1 bankability status and reported annual module production capacity of approximately 61 GW as of 2025, placing it firmly among the top five module manufacturers worldwide. With roughly 20,000 employees and commercial operations spanning more than 20 countries, Canadian Solar carries an institutional footprint that mid-tier competitors cannot match.
Its current product lineup is built around N-type TOPCon technology under the HiKu brand family. The monofacial TOPHiKu6 series addresses residential rooftop and small commercial installations, while the bifacial TOPBiHiKu6 and the high-power TOPBiHiKu7 - topping out at 715 W - are engineered for utility-scale ground-mount and large C&I projects. The TOPCon 2.0 generation announced in 2025 achieves module efficiencies up to 24.4% and a temperature coefficient of -0.28%/°C, benefiting installations in warm climates. All series carry a 30-year performance warranty, which is increasingly a baseline expectation for institutional buyers.
Gamko New Energy, headquartered in Nantong, Jiangsu, China, is a substantially smaller manufacturer with annual production capacity of approximately 1.2 GW as reported in 2023. The company covers a wide power range from a few watts up to 800 W, offering rigid crystalline modules in both PERC and TOPCon variants alongside flexible and bifacial options. It holds standard industry certifications including IEC 61215, IEC 61730, ISO 9001, and CE. However, Gamko does not appear on the BloombergNEF Tier 1 list, which limits its suitability for projects requiring non-recourse financing or EPC-mandated bankability. For most international buyers - particularly those working on grid-tied commercial or utility projects - Canadian Solar is the more defensible default, given its verified bankability, mature TOPCon portfolio, and established global distribution. Gamko may serve cost-sensitive small-scale or off-grid applications where Tier 1 status is not a contractual requirement, but the two brands are not interchangeable for projects where lender approval matters.
Generated by Claude Sonnet · 2026-05-14
Other brand comparisons
Shop prices: See 40 Canadian Solar offers
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.