The utilisation rate of solar cells has consistently remained high in April, largely driven by growth in operation rate and the release of new production capacity.
The market supply and demand for 210 cells continue to be tight, resulting in higher prices compared to 182 cells.
Although production for N-type cells has recently come online, growth remains limited, causing a significant price difference when compared to P-type cells.
TrendForce anticipates that cell prices will start to decline towards the end of April, primarily due to several factors: a continuous decrease in polysilicon prices, the loosening of silicon wafer prices, and the efforts of module producers to cut costs.
The profit margin for solar modules has been largely diverted to the silicon wafer and cell segments—despite the price of silicon falling below $29/kg —resulting in little change in the transaction price of solar modules at around $0.25/watt.
However, some suppliers have dropped prices to below $0.25/watt in an effort to boost sales. TrendForce anticipates solar module prices to return to normal levels by the third quarter at an estimated price of around $0.23/watt.
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