1. EnergyTrend 12/07/2011
EnergyTrend: High-Efficiency Solar Products Gaining Popularity; Manufacturers’Technology
Capability and Strategies Come into Play
According to Energy Trend's survey, high-efficiency products are still in great demand in the market,
which brings hope to the underperforming solar market. But according to related manufacturers,
clients are mainly interested in products with conversion efficiencies above 17%; products; those
with efficiencies below 17% are categorized as B-grade products, with prices 30-50% lower than
those of superior products. EnergyTrend, a research division of TrendForce, believes that it will bring
a new challenge to the Taiwanese manufacturers.
www.trendforce.com

2. EnergyTrend 12/07/2011
EnergyTrend: High-Efficiency Solar Products Gaining Popularity; Manufacturers’ Technology
Capability and Strategies Come into Play
First, multi-Si solar cell products still account for the majority of Taiwanese solar cell makers’
product line. Due to the fact that a good amount of products’ conversion efficiencies still range
between 16.6% to 16.9%, products with conversion efficiencies higher than 17% still make up a
relatively small portion of the total production, which the manufacturers’ revenues hinge upon.
Moreover, the price gap between multi-Si and mono-Si solar cell products continues to narrow
and the prices of 17% (and above) multi-Si and mono-Si solar cell products have become the
same. As a result, multi-Si solar cell makers are striving to increase the portion of 17% products
in order to gain profit.
Moreover, on account of the increasing demand for high-efficiency products, more
manufacturers are focusing on the future development of N-type products. However, the
migration to N-type products cannot be achieved by a sole manufacturer; it requires joint
efforts between wafer, cell and module makers and a thorough plan on equipment installations.
Based on Energy Trend's research, N-type product makers are still the minority in the industry,
and all of them cover assorted sectors from wafer to module. For this reason, some Taiwanese
wafer, cell and module makers have been discussing the possibility of cooperation in order to
achieve vertical integration from wafer to module and put the N-type production into action.
www.trendforce.com

3. EnergyTrend 12/07/2011
EnergyTrend: High-Efficiency Solar Products Gaining Popularity; Manufacturers’Technology
Capability and Strategies Come into Play
As for this week’s spot prices, polysilicon, Si wafer, and solar cell price all remained on a downtrend.
However, given that the price-cutting strategy to spur demand did not pan out as expected, manufacturers
consider going slow down on the inventory digestion. Nonetheless, manufacturers’ inventory levels remain
high, so whether or not they will take another turn regarding their strategies remains to be seen. Lowest
polysilicon price remained at US$22/kg, while ASP fell to US$24.56/kg, a decrease of 3.91%. In terms of Si
wafers, lowest multi-Si wafer price remained at US$1.05/piece, while mono-Si wafer price was
US$1.48/piece. This week’s multi-Si wafer ASP dipped 2.58% to US$1.131/piece; mono-Si wafer ASP fell to
US$1.585/piece, a decrease of 1.49%. The lowest solar cell price was US$0.47/Watt, while ASP fell to
$0.511/Watt, a 1.35% decrease. In terms of module, PV module ASP fell by 3.5% to US$0.881/Watt, with
the lowest price dipping to US$0.68/Watt. Affected by the persisting price downtrend of silicon PV module
and First Solar making inroads into the Southeast Asian market, thin film module’s lowest price fell to
US$0.78/Watt and its ASP dipped to US$0.838/Watt, a 1.64% decrease.
www.trendforce.com