PV Taiwan 2013 kicked off on Oct. 30, 2013. Despite a smaller sized event compared to previous years, and less popularity, observations by EnergyTrend, a green energy subsidiary under TrendForce have a positive outlook for 2014. The industry’s expansion plans that have been on hold for years have finally been reinitiated. Companies equipment spending will definitely grow next year.
Most of the manufacturers that attended the PV forum this year were upstream equipment manufacturers and downstream system manufacturers, according to EnergyTrend observations from the forum. Major Chinese and Taiwanese manufacturers have expansion plans, according to an upstream manufacturer. For equipment manufacturers, this is a clear equipment spending sign from companies. To obtain related orders, equipment makers have actively deployed business strategies in the two markets. Companies in talks include main manufacturers in China and Taiwan, and will confirm the order scale by the end of this year, said a related manufacturer. Aside from expanding production capacity, improvements in production technology have also driven equipment spending. Since most manufacturers will be focused on Passivated Emitter and Rear Cells (PERC) production technology next year, existing product line equipment needs to be upgraded. Therefore, PERC related equipment orders have also become a major target for equipment manufacturers.
Another highlight at the forum was systems, especially maintenance and system consulting in later phases. As power station investments become increasingly important, previously hidden investment protocol issues have gradually surfaced with expanded investments. This has impacted PV power stations Return of Interest (ROI). To solve these risks, operation maintenance warranty and system inquiry are increasingly being valued by manufacturers. Related inquiries have increased at this year’s forum and at related manufacturers’ booths. Besides the above mentioned, another forum highlight has been acquisition. Companies from related industries including silicon wafers and cell manufacturers are in talks, according to EnergyTrend’s understanding. For instance, a large first tier silicon wafer manufacturer’s acquisition case is entering final stages. The company will be able to distance itself from competitors once production capacity is confirmed. In another merger case, a first tier cell company has also been rumored to acquire cell production capacity from another group’s cell subsidiary to quickly meet cell production expansion capacity targets,.
From the current market overview, this week’s polysilicon prices remained flat as companies speculated future market developments. As for silicon wafer market, high multi-si wafer demands and high production capacity have caused prices to up 0.22 percent this week. Strong demands for mono-si wafers and manufacturers positive outlook for future market development has led to this week’s ASP incremental increase of 0.08 percent. Cell manufacturers’ production capacity on the other hand is tightening. Multi-si most efficient trading volume is about 17.2 percent and with large trade volumes, and active market inquiry, it is estimated prices will continue to grow later on. As a result, this week’s prices increased 0.26 percent. In the module market, Chinese manufacturers have begun to deploy their 2014 Chinese market strategies. Stronger module demands have raised this week’s ASP by 0.15 percent.