How much does a solar module cost?

With a specific silicon consumption of 14 grams per watt (g/W) and a spot price of $28/kg, polysilicon made up costs of $0.39/W or 12.6% of the average wholesale solar module price ($3.10/W) in 2003. Due to the strong demand and the higher polysilicon costs, the average module price increased to $3.35/W in 2004.

What is a polysilicon price forecast?

Polysilicon price forecasts are usually based on the industry cost curve. In the early 1980s the consulting company McKinsey popularized this microeconomic graph that is ideally suited to predicting the price of commodity products like polysilicon.

Why did polysilicon cost so much in 2004?

With a specific silicon consumption of 13 g/W and an annual spot price average of $43/kg, the share of the higher polysilicon costs ($0.56/W) in the module price ($3.35/W) rose only slightly to 16.7 % in 2004. The PV branch widely thought that polysilicon manufacturers would expand their production capacities to meet increasing demand.

Why did polysilicon prices rise in the fourth quarter?

Those manufacturers that returned to the market in the fall increased the pressure on the price. Moreover, new polysilicon plants and factory expansions in China with very low production costs and a total capacity of 152,000 MT came on stream in the fourth quarter.

What happened to solar-grade polysilicon in South Korea?

Although OCI and Hanwha had shut down their solar-grade polysilicon capacities in South Korea in February and Wacker reduced the utilization rate of its German plants to 70% in May, the global spot price average reached a historical low of around $6.75/kg in late June.

How did China's polysilicon market perform in the fourth quarter?

Moreover, new polysilicon plants and factory expansions in China with very low production costs and a total capacity of 152,000 MT came on stream in the fourth quarter. As a result, the spot price fell below the historical mark of $10/kg in late October and closed the year at around $9.50/kg.