In its new weekly pv magazine update, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, offers a quick look at key price trends in the global solar industry.
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FOB China prices for PERC and TOPCon Mono M10 cells, the leading solar cell sizes in the current solar market, continued their downward trend and were valued at $0.0550/W and $0.0616/W, respectively, this week. According to OPIS data, these are the lowest prices in history amid falling supply chain prices and weak demand in China and its main export market.
The ongoing decline in supply chain costs in China has had a negative impact on mobile phone prices. Chinese polysilicon and mono PERC M10 wafer prices fell 4.07% and 0.40% respectively this week. The price of mono PERC modules is about 1,011 CNY (0.14 USD)/W, which is very close to the level of 1 CNY/W of the psychological industry, while the prices of TOPCon modules are slightly higher at 1,077 CNY/W.
OPIS has learned from market research that cell manufacturers are doing everything they can to reduce production costs as they suffer losses. One option is to buy low-quality wafers. Low-quality mono PERC-M10 wafers are available in the Chinese market for CNY 1.7/piece, while high-quality wafers are still between CNY 2.2/CNY 2.3/piece, the carrier said. This may resonate with some downstream users who are concerned about the impact of this competition on module quality to reduce production costs by 2024.
Another strategy used by cell manufacturers to reduce production costs is to outsource production to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). OPIS learned in the market that a large mobile phone manufacturer has an extremely high turnover rate because it has received several contracts from other mobile phone companies that have outsourced their mobile manufacturing.
According to OPIS market research, cell manufacturing contract manufacturers benefit from low costs resulting from high operating rates of OEMs and can supply Mono PERC M10 cells to the Chinese market at a price below CNY 0.43/W. Those that continue to produce at low utilization rates in manufacturing facilities are still bidding at about 0.45 CNY/W.
Sentiment in China remains subdued. China used 13.62 gigawatts (GW) of solar power in October, down 13.69% month-on-month, according to the National Energy Administration. This is the third month in a row that China's newly installed solar capacity has declined.
China's main export markets continue to offer some sunshine. The state-owned cell maker says its cell sales have been affected in the second half of the year, particularly in the cell export market. Buying Chinese cells has become rare, even if it is regularly the case for Southeast Asian consumers.
“If module manufacturers want to deliver their products to the US market, they cannot use Chinese cells; "The domestic Southeast Asian market has very limited solar capacity to accommodate Chinese cells and modules," this supplier said.
Looking ahead, the industry expects the price of mono PERC-M10 cells to continue to decline, with discussions in the industry indicating that it will drop to about 0.4 CNY/W. This indicates that sentiment in the mobile market will remain moderate.
OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides energy prices, news, information and analysis on gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, LPG/NGL, coal, metals and chemicals, as well as renewable fuels and environmental products. The company acquired price data assets from the Singapore Solar Exchange in 2022 and now publishes the OPIS APAC Solar Weekly Report.
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