SMM April 14: PV Cell Prices Decline, with Varying Trends by Size

[SMM Silicon-based PV Morning Meeting Summary: Signs of Inventory Buildup in Solar Cells Emerge, Glass September New Order Quotations Raised Across the Board] Solar cell prices continued their subdued downward trend today, with overall market sentiment remaining weak. The quotation center for 210R continued to move lower, with the price range revised down to 0.303-0.313 Yuan/W; the 183 price range narrowed in tandem to 0.305-0.315 Yuan/W; 210N extended its weakening trend, with the price range revised down to 0.298-0.304 Yuan/W. All three price tiers continued to shift downward in sync, with market quotations and actual transactions for 183 and 210R still concentrated in the 0.31-0.32 Yuan/W range. Downstream module enterprises held low procurement expectations, with psychological price levels concentrated at 0.30-0.31 Yuan/W. Mainstream quotations for 210N were in the 0.3-0.31 Yuan/W range, but low prices of 0.295 Yuan/W had already emerged. Downstream wait-and-see sentiment remained strong, overall procurement volumes were insufficient, solar cell enterprises faced a dearth of new orders, and signs of inventory buildup gradually emerged. In the short term, the tug-of-war between sellers and buyers is expected to persist, and prices are likely to consolidate on a subdued note. Future price trends will need to be confirmed by substantial transaction volumes to establish bottom support.

Recently, the 850 MW Phase I of the Luobusha PV project in Qusum County, Tibet, constructed by PowerChina, successfully passed completion acceptance, providing important support for easing regional power supply-demand tensions and strengthening the plateau energy supply barrier. The Luobusha PV project in Qusum County, Tibet, covers an area of approximately 4,289.59 mu, with a total installed capacity of 850 MW. It is the first batch of key commercial PV projects at the Yazhong Clean Energy Base in Tibet and the largest PV clean power generation project in the middle and lower reaches of the Yajiang River. The project is developed in four phases, with Phase I at 200 MW and an average elevation of 4,700 meters. Chengdu Engineering Corporation under PowerChina undertook the construction of the 220 kV booster station, 50 MW PV area, 20.74 km transmission line, and expansion of the opposite-side substation; Sinohydro Bureau 9 undertook the construction of the 150 MW PV field area, installing a total of 348,000 PV modules, along with 64 box-type transformers and 704 inverters.

On August 31, the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced a new space PV R&D funding opportunity totaling up to $12 million. The announcement states its goals clearly: reduce the cost of solar cells and modules for space applications, expand domestic manufacturing capacity in the US, and advance prototypes toward third-party validation in space or near-space environments.