Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Feifei Shen, Bloomberg News
November 26, 2012
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2 Comments
China started a probe to determine if suppliers from the U.S., South Korea and the European Union are dumping polysilicon in the world's biggest maker of solar panels and if retroactive duties should be imposed.
China will also investigate if the U.S. and EU are subsidizing polysilicon makers, China’s Ministry of Commerce said today in a statement. The ministry asked suppliers from the U.S. and South Korea to provide monthly data within 15 days on the amount and value of the raw material they sold to China this year and keep giving information till the preliminary findings of the investigation are announced. Those from the EU were asked to give data from May.
China’s action is part of a trade dispute among the world’s biggest economies as the solar-energy industry grapples with overcapacity and declining profits. Tensions rose after the U.S. affirmed penalties on China-made solar cells and the EU began investigating whether Chinese manufactures are selling solar panels and cells at a loss.
Chinese polysilicon makers, including Jiangsu Zhongneng Polysilicon Technology Development Co., a unit of GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd., have asked for punitive tariffs to be imposed on U.S suppliers 90 days retroactively after the probe is complete, Jiangsu Zhongneng Deputy Manager Lv Jinbiao said in September.
Copyright 2012 Bloomberg.
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November 27, 2012
The cost of solar modules is a fraction of what it was three years ago, because the Chinese government flooded it's solar companies with 100 billion in subsidies. 200 new Chinese solar companies opened up in a single year and a glut of modules were "dumped" onto the US market. None of the companies are making money, which is why Sharp and BP closed their solar divisions; Evergreen, Solyndra, and Unisolar (ECD) went out of business; and all photovoltaic module manufacturers are losing money.
The data they are requesting will show that the US and European module manufacturers were selling at a loss. Everyone is, but it is due to Chinese manufacturers driving down module pricing from $3.50 a watt to less than $1 per watt.
I am glad that the Chinese government supports solar energy, but they need to accept that their policies have caused huge trouble for all solar manufacturers, even their own.