JinkoSolar (JKS) Supplies 55.7 MW Solar Module To Garissa

JinkoSolar Holding Company Ltd. (NYSE:JKS) recently announced that it has supplied 55.7-megawatt (MW) high-efficiency solar modules to the Garissa Solar Power Plant. The plant is located in Kenya, Africa.

Garissa Power Station is an under-construction solar project with an estimated electricity generating capacity of 54.64 MW. The project is funded by the People’s Republic of China that invested KsH 13 Billion or approximately $126 million for the solar farm. Post completion, the project is expected to be the largest solar plant in East and Central Africa.

The power plant is expected to be commissioned in 2018.

Garissa’ Significance

Per Rural Electrification Authority (“REA”), implementation of the Garissa project will develop and promote renewable energy sources and enhance electricity access by 2020. With Garissa County as the economic hub of the north east Africa, the power plant will boost economic growth by enhancing business activities like tourism.

Electricity demand is expected to rise with more tourists, which is likely to provide scope for more solar power plant construction. This is expected to boost JinkoSolar’s prospects and business in the region.

Solar Prospects in Africa

With the improving economy, the demand for electricity is also increasing rapidly in Africa. Per a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), demand for electricity is expected to grow three folds by 2030 in the country. Considering the trend of adopting renewable energy sources, solar power is one of the four key modern renewable energy technologies with highest deployment potentials in Africa. Notably, the share of renewables in the generation mix is projected to grow to 50% by 2030 with solar capacity anticipated to reach a solid 90 gigawatt.

To reap benefits from the growing solar market, REA is implementing 25 solar power mini-grid projects to electrify off-grid centres in Mandera, Garissa, Wajir, Marsabit and Turkana.

Such developments reflect the immense growth opportunities for solar players like JinkoSolar in Africa.

JinkoSolar’s Global Solar Market Expansion

Realizing the need for a cleaner environment, the acceptance of renewable energy sources has globally increased. Thus, the global renewable energy industry witnessed significant growth in the last several years. A key area of the renewable space is solar energy. With increasing demand for solar energy, leading players like JinkoSolar are also expanding their contracts worldwide.

To this end, in July 2018, the company announced that it will supply 86 megawatt (MW) of solar modules to Colombia’s largest Photovoltaic (PV) Plant. Considering the latest events, we may expect to see more similar contracts for JinkoSolar in the upcoming days.

Price Movement

The stock has gained 18.8% in the past month compared with the industry’s rise of 1.6%.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

JinkoSolar currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked stocks in the same sector are Canadian Solar Inc (NASDAQ:CSIQ) , Clearway Energy, Inc (NYSE:CWEN) and Warrior Met Coal Inc (NYSE:HCC) . All the three stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Canadian Solar delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 49.66% in the past four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings rallied 41.62% in the past 60 days.

Clearway Energy delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 178.04% in the past four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings moved up 8.21% in the past 60 days.

Warrior Met Coal delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 0.62% in the past four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings rose 6.05% in the past 60 days.

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