Shining bright

The US and EU are facing difficult trade-offs of increasing solar power in their energy mix, maintaining a fair market and potentially building local production capacity for solar panels. In 2023, Chinese exports far exceeded installation in markets that buy their panels, resulting in solar panel prices hitting all-time lows. Currently, a silicon module sells for USD 0.11 per watt down from USD 0.20 to 0.30 in the last few years. Prices could go even lower as China’s planned production capacity over 2024 to 2027 will be more than double in demand. Plans to onshore solar panel production capacity in the US and Europe are unlikely to be viable without substantial subsidies at current prices. At the same time, low solar panel prices do help to increase solar energy production and thus furthering the global energy transition.

Source: BloombergNEF, April 2024.