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Increase In Polysilicon Prices Impacts On The Solar Power Industry

The main raw ingredient that is found within solar products is polysilicon. As a result of production reducing and the Chinese Government attempting to bolster the solar panel industry within their own country by introducing certain policies the price of polysilicon has gone up.

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(image credit: stantontcady)

Back in the final quarter of last year the cost of polysilicon dropped to a record low as a result of the reduction in the export of solar panels from China to European Union countries and the United States of America. This latest increase must give the solar panel industry in China a boost.

China is, of course, the largest importer of products for solar power in the world and import 50 per cent of polysilicon primarily from the European Union and the United States of America. Chinese companies then manufacture solar panels and solar cells from the polysilicon to export the finished product back to the EU and the USA.

The Chinese solar power industry was hit badly by the United States’ decision in November of last year to impose anti-dumping duties that varied in size from 18.32 per cent to 249.96 per cent plus further countervailing duties ranging from 14.78 per cent to 15.97 per cent. To, potentially, make matters worse the European Union are investigating certain matters concerning solar panels from China.

The average price of polysilicon has increased by 16 per cent since the middle of December last year to a figure of $21,962 per ton. It is felt that producers of polysilicon can now at least break even or possibly make a slight profit which would be a much more favourable picture to last year for the industry.

There has been an increase in the pricing of solar panel products in China to $0.7 per unit – up from $0.6 in 2012. Having said this, it is perhaps a little too soon to comfortably believe that the sector’s slowdown has been reversed.

We shall continue to monitor the situation.

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