Photovoltaic production chain costs fall in the international market

The price was reduced due to high production planning and increased inventories.

InfoLink Consulting’s weekly newsletter on the behavior of costs in the photovoltaic production chain records the drop in wafer prices, with emphasis on 210 mm Type P, which fell 3.4% in the last week: from US$ 0.349 to US$ 0.337 per piece.

The price of 182 mm Type P wafers also suffered a significant reduction in the analyzed period. The drop was 2.5% and each piece now sells for $0.248.

The price suffered fluctuations due to high production planning and increased inventories, which in the last week grew between 3.3 and 3.5 billion units.

Due to these factors, the consulting firm estimates that there is a high probability that new declines in wafer prices will continue to occur in the international market.

Cell prices have remained stable since the last report. P-type PERC technology cells were sold at $0.052/W, while TOPCon cells continued to be priced at $0.062/W.

With wafer prices falling, cell value growth should slow, despite manufacturers’ attempts to sell them more expensively. Future component price trends will depend on the value of the modules.

Some of the module producers continued to try to increase the sales value of the component. However, others delivered orders at a low price, indicating an inconsistency in sales strategies.

However, more recently manufacturers have slowed module shipments. Thus increasing possible price increases in the future.