Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Viewing the solar industry (and all of its technologies) from the outside an observer would be confronted by two distinct views. View number one: THIS IS THE GREATEST TIME IN THE WORLD FOR SOLAR. GROWTH IS OFF OF THE CHARTS. THIS IS THE BEST YEAR YET....
Globally, average module prices (ASPs) decreased by 42 percent in 2012 from a global ASP of $1.37/Wp in 2011 to $0.79/Wp in 2012. In early 2013, ASPs have already decreased by 18 percent to $0.65/Wp with inventory averages ~$-.58/Wp. Many will proclaim...
After over 30 years of struggle solar industry participants cannot be blamed for viewing the lucrative feed-in-tariff incentive model as the best hope for a stable market. Focusing on the photovoltaic industry, the market (in Europe) for PV systems seemed...
Now you see it now you don't – disappearing margins for PV manufacturers are not a magician's trick, nor are they the phenomenon of current solar times. The low to zero to negative margins un-enjoyed by today's technology manufacturing sector are the...
Self-interest, which does not necessarily mean selfishness, is the primary motivating factor in decision making. When properly stimulated, well, people will buy almost anything. Case in point and rhetorically, who really needs a Bugatti, a Rolls Royce...
Held in wintry Beijing from December 9 through December 11, Intersolar China offered attendees an opportunity to share ideas and discuss the outlook for the solar industry as it moves from a stressful and margin sagging 2012 into hopefully, the beginnings...
Out with the old calendar, in with the new calendar – similar to the US fiscal cliff problems (which may or may not be resolved by the time this article comes to print) the solar industry is dragging a number of problems, concerns, conundrums and unfortunate...
Confirmation bias is the tendency for people to seek out information that confirms their views – the attempt to eliminate confirmation is the number one goal of classic market research and the analyst's confirmation bias is the first target of this effort...
Over the course of its terrestrial history, solar industry growth has primarily relied on incentives and subsidies for growth and as a mark of success, instead of healthy margins and profits. For most of the industry's history buyers of technology (cells...
The welcome end of 2012 approaches and with it hopefully a slowdown in the steady march of solar failures, depressing financials and mind numbing trade disputes. Thankfully, the long, long, long, oh so long US presidential campaign season is over, though...
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