SOLAR TRADE WARS SPLITTING THE INDUSTRY

Solar PV Trade Investigations Lag PV Market Dynamics

Michael Barker, May 16, 2014 (SolarBuzz)

“…Top tier suppliers are now reporting stabilized pricing and operating profits, and some are starting to consider increased investments in production facilities…[But global trade disputes threaten] uncertainty…[because] trade investigations are being initiated, not by the countries themselves on behalf of the local PV industry, but by upstream PV suppliers, and often as a last resort…Downstream developers and installers have kept well clear of jumping on the trade war bandwagon, and in most cases, have been strongly opposed to action…Ultimately, downstream channels simply want to install as much solar capacity as possible, and have the widest range of supply available…[A]ny uncertainty introduced to affect the supply of PV components or the financing of PV projects is seen as having a stronger negative impact on the industry than any potential market-share gains that would result in a positive trade ruling…” click here for more

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