It was a victory of sorts on this beautiful spring day for Germany’s solar industry. The protest at Berlin’s Brandenburger Tor was immense: orange balloons released into the light breeze, flags from a number of Germany’s solar companies were vehemently waved and whistles were heartily blown in protest as well as in agreement. The most imaginative of the protesters were a group carrying a coffin through the crowds. Symbolic, simple and effective.
Plunging PV prices have brought the world closer to grid parity than ever before as solar developers scramble to undercut each other with bargain prices bid into California's Renewable Portfolio Standard.
Concern about copper prices is not a recent phenomenon in the history of electrical generation and delivery. In 1879, Thomas Edison calculated that he would need to spend $18,000 to test his first ever electric light system around his lab in Menlo Park, New Jersey.
2011 was hardly a vintage year for thin-film solar in the US. Doubts about revenue-ready technologies based on copper, indium, gallium and selenide coalesced around the Solyndra bankruptcy in August. In December, First Solar decided it could not replicate its success in cadmium telluride, and shuttered its CIGS division.
News that Norsk Hydro has sold its stake in CIGS thin-film wannabe, Ascent Solar, for US$4 million, to another investor, TFG Radiant Investment Group, may not help the struggling firm with sorely needed cash injections. Nevertheless, it would indicate a level of ‘trust’ in the firm to help ride out the current industry-wide challenges.
It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. Winston Churchill was referring to Russia, but his much-reused quote could just as easily apply to India’s nascent solar industry. Shrouded in secrecy, the state of play on the subcontinent is exciting as it is confusing.
Last Thursday, 31 of Europe’s finest football clubs, and Arsenal, entered the draw for the group stage of this season’s Champions League. Commonly regarded as the most prestigious football competition in the world, between now and next May it will be the battle ground for not just the finest footballers on the continent, but also some of the world’s leading commercial brands, including Yingli Green Energy, Q-Cells and JinkoSolar.
Polysilicon spot prices have fallen considerably over the last year as new capacity was introduced and weak demand in the first half of the year reduced demand, especially from Tier 2 and Tier 3 PV module manufacturers. There was a period of real concern from higher-cost producers as poly spot prices fell to the US$50/Kg range, with fear that they would fall further if demand didn’t pick up in Q2.
The irony of this won’t go unnoticed. The natural disaster and its repercussions leading to the re-examination of what was largely accepted as a ‘clean’ renewable energy are hitting the headlines.
Having listened to more quarterly conference calls from listed companies than I care to mention, two contrasting characteristics are worth mentioning. In the PV industry, players such as First Solar get star treatment. With so many analysts on the call, questions are limited to one and no follow-up. At times, even with that policy in place, not all analysts get a chance to pose a question. However, the reverse can also happen.
