Wenzhou Tycoon Generates 30 Billion Annually by Building Solar Power Stations on Rooftops

Wenzhou Business Leader Builds Solar Power Station on Rooftop, Earning 30 Billion Annually

In Chengjia Village, Anshan City, the rooftop of farmer Huang Yongquan’s house is lined with 88 bright blue photovoltaic panels, continuously generating electricity. This rooftop setup contributes over 5,000 yuan to Huang’s family income each year. “At our age, we can’t do heavy physical work. The income from the solar power station is similar to farming but requires less effort and worry,” Huang’s wife remarked. The couple opted for a solution from Zhengtai Aneng, a company led by Nan Cunhui, the chairman of Zhengtai Group. For this prominent entrepreneur from Wenzhou, installing solar panels on rooftops has proven to be a lucrative business.

As of the end of 2024, Zhengtai Aneng’s team had delivered 1.6 million such power stations, securing its position as an industry leader. At the end of April, Zhengtai Aneng disclosed that its revenue for 2024 had already surpassed 30 billion yuan, with a net profit of 2.86 billion yuan. Nan Cunhui is currently planning for an IPO that could mark his third publicly listed company.

Although Nan Cunhui does not serve on the board of Zhengtai Aneng, he has entrusted a young management team with the company’s operations. For instance, the chairman, Lu Chuan, 44, holds a doctorate in law and has spent his entire career at Zhengtai, working in various departments such as legal affairs and investment management. The general manager, Lu Kai, is even younger, born in 1983, and commands an annual salary of 7.89 million yuan. Together, they are driving the growth of the “residential solar” business.

The company operates four main business segments: power station sales, cooperative construction, equipment sales, and after-sales maintenance. Among these, residential solar power station sales represent the largest revenue source, accounting for 75% of the total income with 9.65 billion yuan recorded in the first half of 2024. The clientele primarily consists of large state-owned enterprises in the energy sector, such as State Power Investment Corporation and Huaneng New Energy. During this period, the company delivered a 969.9 MW power station to Huadian New Energy, generating nearly 3 billion yuan in sales revenue.

The cooperative business model allows individual homeowners to lease their rooftops to agents who construct solar power stations. After the stations are built and connected to the grid, both the homeowners and Zhengtai Aneng share the profits. The installation cost for residential photovoltaic equipment is around 100,000 yuan, which can be a significant financial burden for farmers with lower incomes. The model proposed by Nan Cunhui’s team is particularly attractive to farmers, as it enables them to participate in green energy development and reap the benefits. “The average annual income for a typical rural family may be less than 10,000 yuan. By calculating the average area of rooftops suitable for installation, the company can provide 20%-30% additional income to families without government involvement,” Lu Chuan explained.

Equipment sales, which involve selling complete sets of photovoltaic materials such as modules, inverters, electrical boxes, and mounting brackets to agents, contribute less than 1% to the overall revenue. As the installation scale expands, the company naturally extends its after-sales maintenance services, generating 210 million yuan in revenue in the first half of last year. By leveraging these four business areas, Zhengtai Aneng has experienced rapid growth. Last year, it added over 13 GW of installed capacity, with a transaction scale exceeding 8 GW. From 2021 to 2024, its revenues grew from 5.63 billion yuan to 31.8 billion yuan.

Zhengtai Aneng was established in 2015, with Zhengtai Electric as the majority shareholder, holding a 62.54% stake. Both companies share the same actual controller, Nan Cunhui, who also serves as the president of the Zhejiang Business Association. In addition to Zhengtai Electric, he leads another publicly listed company, Tongrun Equipment. According to the 2025 Hurun Rich List, he has a net worth of 16 billion yuan. Zhengtai Electric has a strong reputation and has been deeply engaged in the low-voltage electrical business for over 25 years, being listed since 2010, with a current market value exceeding 49 billion yuan. Utilizing the brand and channel advantages of Zhengtai, Aneng’s residential solar business has quickly captured market share. As of June 30, 2024, the company had established 24 regional offices and recruited over 2,800 agents, covering nearly 1,800 districts and counties.

The bond between the two companies is strong; from January to June 2024, Zhengtai Aneng procured equipment worth 1.39 billion yuan from Zhengtai Electric, including photovoltaic modules and inverters. Feng Yanjiao, a partner at CIC Consulting, believes that a residential solar enterprise’s core competitiveness lies in its technical advantages, sales channels, and brand recognition. “Sales of residential solar systems are characterized by their small and dispersed nature, requiring companies to establish long-term cooperative relationships with local integrators and installers to effectively reach consumers,” Feng explained. Companies that provide comprehensive installation, maintenance, and after-sales services can establish brand advantages that endorse their products. “Our standardized and cloud-based management system allows us to achieve consistent installations from Heilongjiang in the north to Hainan Island in the south,” Lu Chuan stated.

On the maintenance side, Zhengtai Aneng’s services cover 166 cities nationwide, with over 1,200 offline maintenance service points and 3,000 maintenance engineers equipped with a 24/7 intelligent call center. The company claims to provide “one-hour rapid response and 48-hour timely onsite service.”

Nan Cunhui plans to separately list Zhengtai Aneng to raise 6 billion yuan to expand its business footprint. The prospectus states that the IPO will serve as a catalyst to increase the installed capacity of residential solar systems and enhance market share and operational efficiency. The company initiated its IPO in June 2023 but has faced multiple suspensions due to outdated documentation and is currently in a suspended state, requiring updates to its financial data. During this period, inquiries related to its main business have requested an analysis of the impairment risk associated with the fixed assets of the solar power stations. As of June 30, 2024, the asset value of Zhengtai Aneng’s solar power stations was 15.77 billion yuan.

“We conduct weekly reviews of power stations that have not generated electricity for over seven days, and monthly inspections of those generating energy but with low efficiency, to ensure that any operational issues are promptly identified and addressed to enhance profitability,” the company explained, noting that it has tested stations showing signs of impairment and has made impairment provisions. For example, in the first half of 2024, it recognized an impairment of 190 million yuan.

Nan Cunhui is considering a transition to a “light asset” model. “To optimize our business model and asset structure, Zhengtai Aneng plans to sell some of its power station assets.” By the end of 2024, the company announced plans to sell its residential solar power stations, with a total installed capacity not exceeding 14 GW, to large state-owned energy companies and financial institutions. If sales maintain the level of 3 yuan/W in 2025, the 14 GW sales plan corresponds to approximately 42 billion yuan in volume. These actions will help Nan Cunhui recover funds and streamline operations.