Lefeng Solar vs ARTsolar - 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
Ningbo Lefeng New Energy Co., Ltd. is a leading manufacturer in the photovoltaic industry, specializing in the production and sales of PV modules and cells. The company is also involved in the development, construction, and maintenance of photovoltaic power plants. Lefeng is committed to providing high-quality...
- Founded
- 2005
- Headquarters
- Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China
- Annual capacity
- 2 GW/year
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
Lefeng Solar is a Chinese manufacturer headquartered in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, founded in 2005 under the name Ningbo Lefeng New Energy Co., Ltd. Its ENF Solar profile lists an annual production capacity of around 2 GW and a factory footprint of roughly 83,000 square metres. The company is not listed on BloombergNEF's Tier 1 bankability roster, positioning it among the mid-tier export-oriented Chinese suppliers rather than the globally bankable tier dominated by names such as LONGi, JinkoSolar, or Trina. ARTsolar, by contrast, is based in Durban, South Africa, and was founded in 2010 as a 100% South African-owned business. Its production scale is considerably smaller - initially around 250 MW per year - though a 2025 agreement with JA Solar has upgraded its Durban assembly line to approximately 340 MW of high-efficiency, large-format module capacity. ARTsolar also does not appear on the BNEF Tier 1 list as an independent brand, though its new JA Solar-aligned line manufactures modules to Tier 1-quality standards. On institutional footprint, Lefeng holds the larger absolute manufacturing scale, while ARTsolar carries a strategically distinctive position as the only locally owned solar panel manufacturer in South Africa.
Lefeng Solar offers a broad catalog spanning monocrystalline PERC, bifacial, and TOPCon modules in output classes from roughly 265 W up to 630 W-plus, covering residential rooftops, commercial installations, and balcony power systems in export markets across Africa, Latin America, and Europe. ARTsolar's product focus is shaped by South Africa's domestic procurement rules: its panels are aimed at utility-scale independent power producer projects and larger commercial systems where local content requirements favour South African-assembled modules. The JA Solar partnership means ARTsolar now assembles large-format high-efficiency panels that would otherwise be fully imported, giving South African project developers access to competitive cell technology in a locally compliant package.
For a buyer outside South Africa, Lefeng Solar is a plausible budget-to-mid-range sourcing option for volume commercial or off-grid projects, though the absence of BNEF Tier 1 recognition means lender due diligence deserves extra attention. For any project inside South Africa subject to domestic content criteria - particularly REIPPPP rounds or similar tenders - ARTsolar is the more strategically rational choice, and its JA Solar manufacturing tie-up meaningfully closes the technology gap with imported premium modules. For a typical open-market residential buyer with no local-content obligation, neither brand would be a first-call recommendation over a globally bankable Tier 1 supplier.
Generated by Claude Sonnet · 2026-05-17
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.