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According to Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC), global solar PV market has been facing multiple challenges and uncertainties in recent years, such as the European Debt Crisis, regulations changes toward renewable energy applications & solar power construction specification, and trade disputes among countries. In technology side, the innovation of polycrystalline silicon manufacturing process, the improvement of photovoltaic conversion efficiency, and the development of solar thermal energy are all worth to pay attention to in the future.
MIC indicated that the policies regarding renewable energy applications in European countries and the United States will soon be clearer and those policy executions will pose important impacts on the whole industry. Also, the long-term contract issues towards upper-stream polycrystalline silicon companies, the utilization rate among mid-stream solar companies, the operation and financial performances, and the most important of all, the integration & alliances among contract manufacturing (OEM/ODM) companies shall be continued under observation.
Besides, China has become the biggest solar market in the world and accounted for more than 60% of market demand since year 2011. However, China and Taiwan (as being China’s OEM/ODM customer) has been suffering from Anti-Dumping & Anti-Countervailing duties against China by European countries, United States, Australia…and so on in recent years. Therefore, China has deployed the so called 13th five-year plan by enlarging domestic solar market demand. Under well control, its industry has been getting recovered gradually. Taiwan, in the other hand, adopted different methods to cope with trade disputes. Many Taiwan solar companies relocated or set new overseas capacity (especially in ASEAN countries) to avoid duties. In the meantime, Taiwan solar companies also proceeded with business model transformation activities or did alliance with peers (no matter the vertical or horizontal integration) to make a breakthrough.
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