Recent changes in spot market trends have led to substantial decline in PV products trading prices. Price quotes for polysilicon to modules dropped around 1%-3%, noted EnergyTrend, a research division of TrendForce. Whether demand fluctuations at the end of March implies weaker 2Q14 demands still remains to be seen.
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced it will lower PV Feed-in Tariff (FiT) in fiscal year 2014. For PV systems with capacity of 10kW and above, commercial PV FiT will be revised down from 36 yen per kW (tax-excluded) to 32 yen, while residential FiT is to be dropped from 38 yen to 37 yen.
The US Department of Commerce announced on March, 11th that the anti-subsidy initial judgment for certain Chinese crystalline silicon PV products will be extended from March, 28th to June, 2nd. EnergyTrend, a research division of TrendForce, indicates that the delay will stimulate PV market demand and in turn boost the price.
The renewable energy market rapidly grows in Australia due to the recent policies and incentives. However, the economic recession and the decreased system price caused the Australian government to revise the subsidy rate downward.
Ever since the Japanese government passed the Act on Special Measures concerning the Procurement of Renewable Energy in July, 2012, the amount of grid-connected installation in Japan continued to increase. According to EnergyTrend, a research division of TrendForce, 24.5GW of PV systems have passed the certification, in which, 22.5GW were systems above 10kW. It showed that the focus has started to shift from residential systems to utility-scale power plants after the new Act took place.
