AS Solar cell makers have notified clients that August quotes will go up by 3-5% to reflect the rising cost of production materials, according to industry sources. As orders of solar cells stabilize in the third quarter, many solar cell makers have been returning to full capacity. According to industry sources, the first-tier solar cell firms plan to increase quotations by 3-5% to above US$0.80/watt in August. The industry is also optimistic about fourth quarter. Industry sources noted that many solar cell makers have notified clients that the wafer firms can no longer operate at a loss so the price of solar wafers is likely to increase, therefore, the quotes of solar cells will likely to follow suit. The order visibility from a month ago was only until September, causing many solar cell firms to refrain from increasing quotes even as gross margins were low, added industry sources. Many firms increased capacity utilization to lower variable costs. The solar wafer suppliers have been trying to increase price but downstream cell firms have low order visibility and inventory of solar wafers, so the price increase was unsuccessful. Current quotations of solar cells that have conversion efficiency up to 16.4-16.6% is US$0.80/watt. If the price increase is successful, the quotation will increase to US$0.82-0.85/watt. Taiwan-based solar cell makers are Motech, Gintech, Neo Solar Power, Solartech and E-Ton Solar. The price of solar cells decreased about 30% in second quarter when demand was scarce. The demand has been returning in third quarter as the market faces less uncertainty.
Price of solar cells to rise 3-5% in August
By Digitimes, July 2011 | 
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