According to EnergyTrend, the green energy research division of TrendForce, given the preliminary ruling on the U.S. anti-dumping and anti-countervailing case against China and the traditional peak season for solar installation, the orders have been pouring in and the price quotes from Taiwanese solar cell makers climbed.
The price uptrend may even affect the upstream wafer makers. Upstream players stated that they have heard that the downstream players attempted to jack up prices, and they have tried to confirm if the price quotes were truly the closing prices. On the other hand, wafer manufacturers also prepared to increase the price quotes, and have tested the market demand by increasing price quotes on certain clients but received negative feedback. The clients used the flat prices in China as an excuse to ask the wafer manufacturers not to increase prices.
TrendForce indicates the short-term market development is in Taiwanese solar companies’ favor, therefore, the prices will likely go up. However, the preliminary ruling on the U.S. anti-dumping and anti-countervailing case does not affect Chinese solar makers’ solar modules, which limits the growth momentum. TrendForce projects that solar cell prices will rise by 5%-10% and wafer prices by 3%-6%.