The downward trend of the Solar module prices in the industry is continuing, but is slowing down and has now reached a historic low achieved. Manufacturers and retailers are lowering their prices to bring them closer to the accepted price level on the market, even though this level has already been reached. No profits more can be achieved. In China, the main concern is to minimize damage, as unsold stocks cause additional costs. Experts even estimate that the Module prices are currently below production costsand the industry is therefore concentrating on sales and reducing the capacity utilization of its machines. This artificial shortage could stabilize solar module prices and halt the downward trend.
Solar module prices fall by 35 % in the last six months
Interestingly, solar module prices in Europe and Asia have been hit harder than on other continents. In the USA prices for low efficiency modules, such as monocrystalline perc cells, can be up to 100 % higher than in Europe. This is partly due to import restrictions in the US, which keep prices higher there. However, the price reductions have reached their limits and some non-Chinese manufacturers are shifting their focus to the US market.
In Europe since January 2023, solar module prices have fallen by 33 % to around 27 cents/Wp for high-efficiency modules, by 37 % to 19 cents/Wp for mainstream modules and by 42 % to 11 cents/Wp for low-cost modules. This price war is attributed to the Chinese competition, which wants to dominate the European market with dumping prices. European manufacturers fear that this price war could jeopardize their existence and damage the local solar industry in Europe. This could make Europe even more dependent on imports from China and the USA, which could have a negative impact on price trends and the energy transition in Europe in the long term
It has never been so cheap to implement PV projects
In Germany, the accelerated expansion of photovoltaic systems continues unabated and prices for other solar components such as Electricity storage and Inverter are also likedwhich increases the overall interest in generating one's own green electricity. The unabated demand will cause solar module prices to rise again and companies planning large-scale PV projects should act now and take advantage of the current Exploiting market dynamics. The prices of polysilicon and other important raw materials for the production of PV modules are currently rising again, meaning that in the medium term solar module prices will increase. Even if improved manufacturing processes and higher quantities reduce production costs overall, prices cannot remain below production costs.