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US solar confronts PV price plunge
07 October 2011
Slumping PV prices have prompted manufacturer bankruptcies and strategy changes for high-cost producers. In this context, large-scale PV and CSP projects are competing for the remainder of the US stimulus package as several deadlines loom. By Robin Sayles.
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[doe]
[solyndra]
[FIPP]
[pv]
[csp]
[forst solar]
[sunpower]
[nextera]
US solar operators have had to reposition their businesses after recent falls in PV panel prices have shaken up the industry. European sovereign debt worries have darkened the outlook for solar, along with cuts to national feed in tariff prices, which propped up manufacturers and developers in more mature solar markets like Germany and Spain.
It’s hard to overstate the effect of low cost manufacturing from Asia, particularly China. A glut of panels means that higher-cost firms need to reshape their strategy to avoid missing out on US solar growth. Significant market consolidation is likely.
DoE tries to minimise Solyndra fall-out
When PV panel manufacturer Solyndra filed for bankruptcy last month, it was not the first manufacturer to succumb to the tough market conditions, but it caused much attention as it was the first non-automotive manufacturing project to get a loan guaranteed under the DoE’s loan guarantee programme.
Following the Chapter 11 filing by...
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