Bad News for Solar Panel Manufacturers is Good News for Solar Power Home Owners
There is no question that the years from 2001-2007 have been boom years for all solar equipment manufacturers globally. The demand rose exponentially, existing players invested in building new plants, and several new players sensing a new growing market entered the playing field.
Now that we are in a full blown global recession however, the supply of not only solar panels has far exceeded demand, but also those of raw materials needed to build solar panels.
See the drop in price for Polysilicon used in solar panels.
Businessweek ran a great article on this story here.
Due to overinvestment in capacities ala airline and automobile industries, supply has far far exceeded demand.
Several solar manufacturers will become unviable in the coming year or two, and there will be big industry consolidation.
The prices of solar panels have shrunk dramatically to $3/Watt. This means that the price of solar power electricity is getting very close to that produced by conventional means, especially in high priced states like California and Hawaii.
Wow! This can only mean that the price barrier to Solar Power Homes is rapidly tumbling down. And the Return on Investment equation just got even better in favor of a Solar Power House. If you are interested in knowing more about how to build fully functional and practical Solar Power Homes without sacrificing daily comforts, then please check out this Solar Power Homes guide. It really is the best and most complete book on this subject that I have come across.
May the solar winds be with you 
Images: Courtesy Businessweek
Those are forecasted values. Why don’t you make a plot of futures prices for polysilicon? Granted, polysilicon is a commodity, and should not be trading at premium. The fact that it requires high levels of refined sand should keep the price up though, perhaps at the 2006 levels.
yes, I can see solar energy really start to take off in the US now, especially with the major investment Obama has been promising
Prices on solar products may be tumbling, but that’s only one of the concerns about the current generation of equipment. While most solar power panels are much cheaper and more efficient than they were even a few years ago, they still can’t compete with conventional power generation costs. Aside from that, solar panels are still near the ~20% efficiency mark at maximum, and certain companies are already working on higher efficiency devices. All of that leads me to think that it would be wise to wait for a little while before investing in a new form of electrical generation.