Where does the future of solar energy lie? Sometimes, answers must be sought outside the industry itself, such as from its close relative, energy storage, or from wind power. During the peak of the solar sector in 2022, many in the industry looked down upon wind turbine manufacturers, as that market was highly competitive and products were often sold by weight. However, the tables have turned. Since last year, wind power has become increasingly attractive, while solar modules have seen their value diminish significantly.
Recent attention on Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd. is not due to how far its globalization efforts lag behind competitor Envision Group, but rather because of its remarkable prowess in investment. From Blue Arrow Aerospace, which is currently undergoing an IPO, to last year's high-flying robotics concept stock Swancor Advanced Materials, Goldwind has had a presence. Although based in China's Northwest, its investment strategy is cutting-edge.
Is this a company that relies on connections for its investments, or does it genuinely possess strong capabilities? What lessons can solar companies learn from this manufacturing firm's strategic diversification?
**From Robotics to Rockets** Years ago, a senior leader once lamented, why can't Shanghai produce a figure like Jack Ma? Borrowing this sentiment, one might now ask, why can't the solar industry produce a company like Goldwind?
Recently, the IPO application status for Blue Arrow Aerospace, poised to be the first publicly listed commercial rocket company, was updated to "under inquiry" on the STAR Market. The company aims to raise 7.5 billion yuan, with market estimates valuing it at around 75 billion yuan. Goldwind holds approximately a 4.14% stake through its investment platform. Based on post-issuance calculations, Goldwind's stake could be worth about 2.8 billion yuan.
According to Goldwind's 2017 annual report, on December 14, 2017, Xinjiang Goldwind signed a capital increase agreement with the original shareholders of Beijing Blue Arrow, investing 50 million yuan for an 8.33% stake. In less than nine years, this investment has appreciated over 50 times.
At a time when private rocket ventures were niche and the financing environment was cautious, Goldwind's foresight and the breadth of its investment targets were notable. This is not an isolated case. Swancor Advanced Materials, a top-performing stock in 2025 linked to the Zhiyuan Robot concept, is another classic example of Goldwind's successful investment.
This investment dates back even further. Goldwind's 2017 report notes that in March 2016, it acquired a 10.00% stake in Swancor (Shanghai) Fine Chemical Co., Ltd. from an independent third party for 300 million yuan. After holding it for ten years, Goldwind realized total returns of 323 million yuan from disposals and dividends. Had Goldwind not sold its 8.06 million shares, that stake would be worth approximately 1.13 billion yuan today. Even at the time of Goldwind's announcement on August 28, 2025, the stake was valued at around 700 million yuan. The rationale for this divestment was unclear at the time.
Goldwind's most notable investment success story is JL MAG Rare-Earth Co., Ltd. In 2009, Goldwind invested 34 million yuan in the early-stage company. This move secured a key materials supply for its direct-drive permanent magnet wind turbines while also yielding substantial financial returns as the company grew and went public. Over the past 17 years, Goldwind has cashed out over 2.2 billion yuan. As of December 5, 2025, Goldwind still held 25,150,779 shares, a 1.83% stake worth over 900 million yuan. The total appreciation from the initial 34 million yuan investment exceeds 3.1 billion yuan, a gain of over 90 times.
Goldwind's star investment projects are numerous, extending across the new energy sector to include companies like Hithium Energy Storage, Jinko Power Technology, and Hydrogen Sunrise Technology. This track record stands strong even when compared to renowned investors like Zhang Lei of Hillhouse Capital and Neil Shen of Sequoia Capital China.
**Decoding the Investment Map** An analysis of public information reveals Goldwind's investment focus falls into three main categories: synergistic investments within the wind power supply chain, ecological expansion investments building new energy system capabilities, and strategic early-stage investments in future hard technologies. These categories are interconnected, following a logic where the core business provides application scenarios and cash flow, while investments offer technology interfaces and growth potential, creating a mutually reinforcing cycle.
The first category focuses on supply chain synergy to strengthen the core business. This is the foundation of Goldwind's investments, aimed at ensuring supply security, reducing costs, and enhancing chain resilience. Beyond JL MAG, Goldwind has invested in companies specializing in bearings, gearboxes, wind measurement, and operations maintenance. For instance, Delijia, a gearbox manufacturer, completed its IPO in 2025, benefiting from both equity ties and business collaboration with Goldwind.
The second category involves ecosystem expansion to cultivate new growth areas. Goldwind has extended its reach into related fields like energy storage, hydrogen, and new materials, aligning with "dual carbon" policy goals. Investments include Swancor Advanced Materials, related to wind turbine blade materials, and Hithium, a standout in the energy storage sector.
The third category comprises frontier hard tech investments to secure future strategic high ground. This is a key reason for the current focus on Goldwind. Despite being in traditional manufacturing, Goldwind has adeptly identified major tech trends. In commercial aerospace, it participated in multiple funding rounds for Blue Arrow Aerospace, exploring synergies in "green power-fuel-launch" operations. In industrial communications and chips, Goldwind invested in Yutai Microelectronics, as disclosed in its IPO prospectus, exiting in July 2021. Goldwind has also explored areas like power semiconductors, data elements, and intelligent maintenance through industrial funds or strategic investments.
As of January 2026, Goldwind's portfolio includes both listed companies and those in the IPO pipeline. These investments generate significant returns. For example, in its Q3 2025 report, "investment income" and "fair value change income" amounted to approximately 641 million yuan and 787 million yuan, respectively, totaling about 1.428 billion yuan, substantially supporting the net profit of 2.584 billion yuan.
**The Strength of Goldwind's Network** Goldwind's sustained investment success is not accidental. While connections may play a role, it cannot be attributed solely to a strong network. As a wind power leader, Goldwind naturally possesses rich industrial application scenarios and project resources. It maintains long-term partnerships with major energy developers, understands project implementation, cost allocation, and cash flow management. Its industrial capital nature also facilitates co-investment and joint due diligence with market-oriented funds. Combined with its strategic presence in Xinjiang, North China, and East China along the new energy chain, Goldwind has inherent advantages in accessing high-quality projects and key investment rounds.
Crucially, Goldwind is perceived more as an "industrial investor" than a pure financial backer. Its investments often come with expectations of business synergy, either securing supply chain links through equity or creating collaboration interfaces for system integration and new applications.
Goldwind's investment network is formidable, including top VCs and PEs like Hillhouse Capital and Sequoia Capital China, state-owned capital such as China Three Gorges Capital and ABC International, and financial institutions like China CITIC Bank and Agricultural Bank of China for co-investment. A strong network reflects its own strength; capable entities attract other capable partners.
Goldwind employs a differentiated strategy: partnering with leading VCs for early-stage projects and state-backed institutions for mid-to-late stage ventures. This ensures technological acuity and enhances resource integration. For example, in the Blue Arrow Aerospace project, it collaborated with Shenzhen Capital Group, holding a combined 10.0962% to build a strategic position in commercial aerospace. In the Delijia IPO, a Pre-IPO investment with state capital yielded stable returns.
Goldwind's investment philosophy can be summarized by four principles: enter early, target small companies, ensure real synergy, and exit steadily. "Enter early" means investing before an industry reaches its inflection point, as seen with JL MAG, Blue Arrow, and Swancor. "Target small" focuses on startups and growth-stage companies to "lock in" a position at reasonable valuations where synergy is feasible. "Ensure real synergy" involves a restrained approach to post-investment involvement, prioritizing business collaboration and resource对接 over operational interference. "Exit steadily" means not holding investments indefinitely; Goldwind exits decisively when valuations, profitability, and liquidity conditions are ripe, locking in gains.
Furthermore, Goldwind's investments show systematic decision-making and risk control, evaluating technology, products, commercialization paths, synergy value, valuation, and exit feasibility. In high-uncertainty hard tech sectors, this disciplined "calculate before betting" approach is key to long-term cyclical resilience.
**Why Can't the Solar Industry Produce a Goldwind?** As fellow clean energy equipment manufacturers, the solar industry's scale is not smaller than wind power's; it even boasts higher global market share, having produced leaders like LONGi Green Energy Technology, Tongwei Co., and Aiko Solar, and attracted significant engineering talent and industrial capital.
Yet, few solar companies have managed to create a long-term virtuous cycle where core operations and industrial investments reinforce each other, let alone develop the systemic capability Goldwind demonstrates, where the core business supports investments, which in turn feed back into the business.
Recent awareness of solar companies' investment abilities often stems from speculation and substantial gains by个别 entities in the futures market. However, this involves exploiting asymmetrical advantages, potential regulatory issues, and is outside the scope of this discussion.
Observations suggest solar company investments typically fall into three categories. First, investments circling the supply chain, sometimes primarily for major shareholders' personal arbitrage, detached from the listed company's interests. Second, personal Limited Partnership (LP) investments disconnected from the core business, often veering toward speculation based on market trends. Third, and most prevalent in the current cycle, is investment in production capacity rather than the broader industry—ramping up output during booms with local governments and financial institutions, ultimately leading to severe internal competition.
This is not to dismiss all solar companies. Counterexamples exist, such as TBEA Co., Ltd., also based in Xinjiang. Though not a pure solar player—it started with power equipment before expanding into polysilicon and energy resources—its investment logic shares similarities with Goldwind: solid related diversification from transformer manufacturing into polysilicon and PV power plants for chain synergy, and a focus on resource assets like coal mines in the Zhundong area, with over 12 billion tons of reserves, to hedge against cycles.
The fundamental gap preventing the solar industry from producing a Goldwind lies not in capital or talent, but in three areas: external perspective, investment discipline, and industrial synergy. Firstly, past profitability in solar created path dependency; early success came from subsidies, cycles, and stock markets, leading to a wait-and-see attitude during downturns rather than seeking external opportunities. Secondly, there's a preference for expanding within the immediate supply chain, often through personal investments by shareholders in suppliers, facilitated by increased orders from the listed company, which can border on利益输送 (benefit transfer), rather than exploring beyond.
**Conclusion** The solar industry lacks neither funds, talent, nor industrial depth and connectivity. What it lacks is the systemic ability to integrate "industry insight—capital tools—engineering execution—exit and reinvestment" into a closed loop.
To escape internal competition, the solar industry must first break cognitive barriers: not clinging to old models as the only answer, nor mistaking short-term speculation for lasting capability. More importantly, it must redefine industrial investment from an "optional side activity" to an "essential, professionally executed" business tool.
Learning from Goldwind's long-termism means being willing to place early bets in uncrowded sectors. Adopting its synergy mindset means acting as an investor who brings industrial certainty, not just capital. Embracing its discipline means having the courage to take profits, reinvest, and make clear calculations. Finally, broadening horizons and vision, like Goldwind's transition from a "wind turbine maker" to an "energy system participant," can unlock new growth curves within larger industrial integration.
After all, the future of energy is not solely solar, nor solely wind.