PV costs to plummet in 2009

摘要

The cost of photovoltaic electricity is due to plummet in 2009, according to clean energy analysts at New Energy Finance. The second issue of its quarterly Silicon and Wafer Price Index shows average silicon contract prices falling by over 30 percent in 2009, compared with 2008. With thin-film PV module manufacturing costs approaching the 1 dollar/Watt mark, crystalline silicon-based PV will come under severe competition for larger projects, resulting in margins shrinking throughout the silicon value chain, as the company argues in a recent exclusive report - "Through Thick and Thin". The ultimate winners will be consumers, who will finally see competitive solar power, and those few companies with good cost positions.