In China, solar module prices are falling

This 7.48% plunge – the largest percentage drop so far this year – takes the CMM below the psychologically significant level of $0.2/W.

Several market participants pinned the downturn on rising polysilicon in China and how Chinese-made polysilicon has effectively returned to what one source calls a “reasonable price.” The latter, rated China Mono Grade by OPIS, continued its inevitable decline to CNY 107.5 ($15.10)/kg.

Module prices in China are falling rapidly, with opening bids for some recent domestic projects all below CNY 1.5/W, several sources noted. Downstream demand is huge, with 48.31 GW installed in the first four months of this year. However, module shipments are still lower than expected as potential buyers waiting for additional price drops are delaying their purchases, the sources also agreed. Buyers will wait as long as their projects allow, explained one veteran market watcher, adding that he did not expect module prices to level off.

OPIS expects significant price volatility as buyers and sellers take a wait-and-see approach to China’s module market. Stalled demand, which one source called an “all-time high” in procurement as China’s National Energy Administration approved a third batch of gigawatt-based power projects, means the price drop may be finding a bottom.

According to the China Solar Industry Association, the country is set to install up to 120 GW of solar power in 2023. But manufacturers should have large inventories of modules, another source said, which, if released to the market, could hint at further declines on the horizon. .

OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides energy prices, news, data and analysis on gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, LPG/NGL, coal, metals and chemicals, as well as renewable fuels and environmental commodities. It acquired pricing data assets from the Singapore Solar Exchange in 2022 and now publishes the OPIS APAC Solar Weekly report.