Chinese solar firms eye price hikes amid silver surge, scrapping of tax rebate

Overseas solar panel buyers are facing price increases as Chinese manufacturers look set to pass on higher costs to customers amid rising silver prices and the impending withdrawal of an export tax rebate.

Trina Solar, one of the world’s top four solar module makers by shipment volume, hiked its average selling prices by 3.5-3.66 per cent, to around 0.85-0.89 yuan per watt, according to a Tuesday note by Citibank. The Shanghai-listed company ships modules – a key solar panel component – to over 180 countries.

Longi Green Energy Technology, which derived nearly 40 per cent of its revenue in the first half from overseas markets, was doubling its prices to 0.06 yuan per watt, mainland Chinese media reported.

Rising silver prices were behind the trend, as the metal accounted for between 5 and 15 per cent of the cost of solar panels, said Lucas Zhang Liutong, director of Hong Kong-based consultancy WaterRock Energy Economics.

Silver prices exceeded US$70 per ounce in late December and have broken multiple records since then. The metal exceeded US$86 an ounce on Tuesday, up 48 per cent from its historical level of around US$58 on December 1.