The 26th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) is currently in session. News from the event indicates that manufacturers hold conservative attitudes towards Q4, a sign that pressure to lower price will continue to increase.
According to EnergyTrend, a research division of TrendForce, sellers and buyers are all haggling over conversion efficiency, price, and payment term negotiations. As the European debt crisis is not yet resolved and the arrival of the solar energy industry’s weak season is imminent, the outlook for Q4 is generally unfavorable and manufacturers are facing immense pressure to lower prices. EnergyTrend indicates that in order to slow the rate of price decline, manufacturers are acquiescing to more lenient payment terms in exchange for better prices while concurrently striving to ease the oversupply situation with capacity adjustments. However, as the main contribution to the current high supply levels comes from Chinese makers, if manufacturers cannot come to a consensus during the PVSEC, EnergyTrend expects that 2HSep. price will see significant adjustments.
Looking towards Q4, as external factors will not be conducive to demand recovery, price decreases are inevitable and the outlook for manufacturers’ quarterly revenue is subsequently gloomy. However, EnergyTrend believes that this economic downturn is a chance for the global solar industry to separate the wheat from the chaff, as it provides the industry with the incentive to break free from the vicious cycle of price haggling and move towards a more productive future.