l'Actualité du Solaire

The trend according to PV InfoLink of December¹:

Silicon:

Manufacturers have delivered outstanding orders. Price negotiations for the new order series have not yet started, as both parties remain at an impasse.

For the time being, there has been no significant change in prices from the major mono grade polysilicon manufacturers, remaining at the level of previous orders. Price negotiations for new orders have not yet taken place. The market seems calm, but opinions on price development are conflicting. A consensus has been reached that silicon prices will fall, but there is no agreement on how quickly and how much this will happen in the future. Price negotiations will remain intense in the first half of December, when substantive negotiations will begin.

Wafers:

The main manufacturers (LONGi, Zhonghuan see elsewhere) lowered their official prices this week. With the exception of the 210 mm mono-Si wafers, those of the other formats are significantly lower. The 166mm mono-Si wafers, although moving more quickly away from the mainstream in terms of supply and demand, have seen market prices fall to RMB 5.25/piece. The lower price range is around RMB 5.05/piece. Prices for 182 mm mono-Si wafers remained mostly below RMB 6.2/piece; Tier 1 and Tier 2 manufacturers offered slightly different prices.

Monosilicon wafers have decreased in thickness. They are increasingly 165 µm and getting closer to 160 µm

Cells:

The price of cells immediately adapted to the new wafer price. The market remained wait-and-see as few buyers came forward.

Average 166mm cell prices fell to RMB 1.05-1.06/W this week, with a low price range sliding to RMB 1.04-1.05/W, as panel production fell and demand declined. 182mm cells saw prices fall to RMB1.1-1.12/W, and as low as RMB1.08/W in the lower price range, amid falling wafer prices and weak demand in December. 210mm cells, with fewer buyers, saw few orders signed this week, keeping prices at 1.1-1.2 RMB/W.

Panels:

End-users remain in a holding pattern as demand is weak and manufacturers liquidate stocks at reduced prices. It is the 166 mm panels that could see their prices fall the fastest as Chinese demand shifts to larger formats. However, demand for panels larger than 500 W is not forthcoming, which will lead to a decrease in the rate of production. The price war has started to sell, in a context of decreasing demand. This leads to the expectation that panel prices will fall in the first quarter of 2022.

Abroad, manufacturers are delivering previously signed orders. In the run-up to Christmas, the drawdown of stocks in Europe and the US has slowed down. As the downward trend is already noticeable, manufacturers expect lower prices for next year. They could go as low as $0.27/W for the first quarter of 2022.

PV InfoLink of¹ December