The price of solar panels could fall by as much as 40 per cent by the end of the year as huge increases in polysilicon supplies lead to a sizable fall in production costs for solar panel manufacturers.
That is the view of industry analyst New Energy Finance, which is predicting solar module prices could fall by between 30 and 40 per cent as a result of recent investments globally to increase production of silicon.
Polysilicon prices hit a peak of $400 per kilogram last summer, but as investments to increase capacity have come online, prices have fallen to between $30 and $40 per kilogram and experts are agreed they are likely to continue dropping.
"A massive increase in silicon supplies is coming through at the moment that will lead to a fall in solar module prices," predicted Angus McCrone, chief editor at New Energy Finance. "In one way it's bad news for solar companies because it will put pressure on margins as prices fall, but in another ...