Thursday, September 29, 2011

The Truth About Solar Panel Manufacturing Competition


                                      http://www.flickr.com/photos/zooboing/4845067066
                                          Ancient Greece Vase


The collapse of Solyndra and Evergreen, both US based solar companies may have triggered other renewable energy companies specifically solar manufacturing companies to defend whats left on them especially that China are heavily subsidizing its own solar companies to efficiently compete in the international market. Report from Bloomberg states that solar manufacturers are preparing a U.S. trade complaint against China.
"Solar manufacturers including a unit of SolarWorld AG (SWV) are preparing a U.S. trade complaint against China, as they seek to counter low-cost, subsidized imports, according to people familiar with the matter.
The case, which would be filed at the Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, would be one of the largest targeting China, with political implications as both nations race to develop clean- energy technologies.
The companies say that China’s subsidies to solar companies violate global trade rules and provide those manufacturers with an unfair advantage, according to the people, who spoke yesterday on condition of anonymity because no complaint has yet been filed.
“We are actively conversing with our federal contacts in seeking help on how to prevent China from decimating another U.S. industry,” Ben Santarris, a spokesman for SolarWorld Industries America Inc. in Hillsboro, Oregon, said in an interview. He declined to discuss a possible filing.
In the first seven months of this year, China shipped $1.4 billion of solar panels to the U.S., more than the $1.2 billion of panels it sent in all of 2010, according to U.S. International Trade Commission data. Imports from South Korea, the Philippines and India also jumped."
(Please click here for full report)
One thing sure about this thing is that the price of solar panels must go down to become accessible to everybody. Those who could give the most value at the lowest cost will ultimately win and China is leading on this race.


source: bloomberg

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