Strong Rush for PV Installations Boosts Solar Cell Prices Gradually Rising [SMM Silicon-Based PV Morning Meeting Summary]

SMM March 7 News:

Silica

Prices

Silica prices remained stable this week. Entering mid-March, silicon enterprises in north China typically conduct small-scale silica raw material replenishment purchases during the same period in previous years, while those in south-west China prepare sufficient raw materials for production resumption during the rainy season. However, due to the continued weak silicon market, production resumption plans in south-west China have been delayed, and the overall operating conditions of silicon plants in north China are also not optimistic. Large-scale silicon plants, despite operating at high levels, have relatively low demand for externally purchased silica, while small-scale silicon plants have seen significant production cuts or shutdowns. As a result, the demand for silica raw material purchases remains low. Currently, the mine-mouth price of low-grade silica in Yunnan is 330-350 yuan/mt, high-grade silica in Inner Mongolia is 350-380 yuan/mt, high-grade silica in Hubei is 400-450 yuan/mt, and high-grade silica in Jiangxi is 430-460 yuan/mt.

Production

The overall supply of silica from mines remains relatively ample.

Demand

From the demand perspective, there was no significant rebound in raw material procurement in early March, and overall raw material demand remains relatively low.

Silicon Metal

Prices

Spot silicon metal prices continued to weaken this week. Yesterday, SMM's east China above-standard #553 silicon was around 10,400 yuan/mt. The most-traded SI2505 silicon futures contract fluctuated upward slightly. Due to sluggish transactions, some silicon enterprises have further lowered their quotations, and silicon prices remain weak.

Production:

This week, silicon metal enterprises showed mixed changes in operating capacity. Large-scale silicon enterprises increased their operating capacity, leading to a MoM increase in total silicon metal supply.

Inventory

Social Inventory: As of March 7, SMM statistics show that the national social inventory of silicon metal totaled 599,000 mt, down 9,000 mt WoW. Among this, general social warehouses held 141,000 mt, down 6,000 mt WoW, while social delivery warehouses held 458,000 mt (including unregistered warrants and spot cargo), down 3,000 mt WoW. The weekly destocking of social inventory was mainly reflected in the Tianjin area.

Silicon Wafer

Prices

The market price for N-type 18X silicon wafers was 1.18-1.2 yuan/piece, while N-type 210RN silicon wafers were priced at 1.35-1.4 yuan/piece. The price increase was mainly driven by 210R wafers, with ongoing market transactions, while prices for other sizes remained stable.

Production

Silicon wafer production schedules in March continued to increase, with widespread growth among first- and second-tier enterprises. Q2 quotas were issued, exceeding previous expectations, and silicon wafer production is expected to grow significantly in April.

Inventory

Recent transactions for silicon wafers have mainly focused on 210R wafers. New quotations have just been introduced, with limited market transactions, and inventory fluctuations remain minimal.

Solar Cell

Prices

High-efficiency PERC182 solar cells (efficiency of 23.2% and above) were priced at 0.31-0.32 yuan/W. There were no transactions in the PERC210 cell market. Topcon183 solar cells (efficiency of 25% and above) were priced at approximately 0.295-0.3 yuan/W, Topcon210RN solar cells at 0.31-0.34 yuan/W, and Topcon210 solar cells at 0.295-0.295 yuan/W. Recent prices have continued to rise, with Topcon210RN showing strong growth.

HJT direct sales were limited, as integrated manufacturers were self-sufficient.

Production

Topcon solar cell production schedules in March increased by 36.04% MoM, with Topcon183 cells up 43.31% MoM, Topcon210R cells up 89.18% MoM, and Topcon210 cells up 29.42% MoM.

Inventory

Driven by the PV rush for installations, solar cells were in undersupply, and inventory levels at battery manufacturers fell below safety stock levels.

PV Film

Prices

PV-Grade EVA

The transaction price for PV-grade EVA was 11,500-11,850 yuan/mt. The domestic delivery-to-factory price for PV-grade POE was approximately 12,000-14,000 yuan/mt, with POE prices remaining stable.

PV Film

Currently, the mainstream price for 420g transparent EVA film is 5.46-5.67 yuan/m², 420g white EVA film is 5.96-6.17 yuan/m², 380g EPE film is 5.79-5.89 yuan/m², and 380g POE film is 6.84-7.22 yuan/m².

Production

The production schedule for PV-grade EVA in March increased by 13.7% MoM, while the production schedule for PV film increased by 28.5% MoM.

Inventory

Currently, petrochemical enterprise inventories are relatively low. With the rise in module production schedules, EVA demand has grown significantly.