The average price of solar cells with efficiency in the range of 16.2-16.6% was US$0.3/watt in November, according to solar makers, but the price has recently decreased to US$0.25-0.3/watt. Demand has been coming from emerging solar markets such as China and India, and some orders from these markets procure solar cells by unit, not by watt.
The supply chain is no longer willing to accept orders with low quotes, hence the price of solar cells with conversion efficiency above 17% has been steady while the price of cells with efficiency below 16.6% has been seeing large fluctuations.
Capacity utilization rates among solar firms in Greater China have shown significant differences. Firms that have been seeing rising capacity utilization rates are mostly tier-one firms. Some firms that have not been able to obtain orders have utilization rates below 50%.
