l'Actualité du Solaire

The market focuses on ingot utilisation rates

Silicon :

The price of silicon has remained stable this week as supply and demand have changed little. A change is taking place in the industry:

Manufacturers of low-quality silicon have increased their quality to meet demand for N-type material.

Silicon stocks have risen to between 60,000 and 70,000 tonnes. A problem of excessive stocks will arise.

Wafers :

Manufacturers maintained their production rate for March. They monitored the dynamics of supply and demand to adjust production. Competition intensified, as production rates were maintained in order to secure greater market share or meet their shipment targets, thereby increasing the risk of overproduction.

Prices for M10 and G12 formats were stable at 2.05 RMB/piece and 2.80-3.0 RMB/piece for P type. Prices for M10 and G12 type N wafers have stabilised at 2 RMB/piece and 3.08-3.1 RMB/piece. Some products are on sale at RMB 1.95 to RMB 1.98 a piece.

Cells :

Production stoppages or slowdowns during the holidays are leading to a shortage of cells. Manufacturers are trying to raise the price of M10 P-type cells to 0.4 RMB/W, and to 0.48-0.49 RMB/W for N-type cells. For the moment, P-type remains between 0.38 and 0.40 RMB/W. The main non-vertically integrated cell manufacturers have maintained higher prices, with prices for high-efficiency products reaching 0.39-0.4 RMB/W.

The price of N-type M10 cells was stable at between 0.46 and 0.47 RMB/W, and 0.48 RMB/W for very high efficiency cells. The price differential between TOPCon and PERC cells remains between 0.08 and 0.09 RMB/W. G12 high-efficiency HJT cells have seen their prices reach 0.6 to 0.7 RMB/W.

The attempt to increase prices has failed because this movement depends on the price of panels, which remains stable.

Panels :

Manufacturers are starting to produce to meet the next wave of purchases in March-April. Their production rate is between 50 and 53 GW. There is no sign of a recovery in demand. Stocks in Europe continue to rise. China's plans for large-scale power plants are slow to materialise.

The increase in the price of PERC products (from 0.02 to 0.04 RMB) has failed to materialise because buyers are unwilling to accept it. Tier 1 panel manufacturers are not expected to raise their prices in ^Q2, as the recovery is very slow and wafer stocks could be an incentive not to raise prices. The trend therefore depends on demand growth in China in April and May, and on export growth. Board prices are stable. Only low prices are increasing by 0.01 to 0.02 RMB/W.

https://www.infolink-group.com/energy-article/pv-spot-price-20240228

PV Magazine 28 February 2024