Intro
I ll try to do some solar equipment price analysis in the this article
What has happened to the solar market in the last three months?
For the following analysis of the drop in prices of solar panels, I will introduce a concept that will be woven through all price analyses
Price Index = Price (USD) / Peek Power (W): shows how much it costs to invest in 1 watt of solar energy
PV module prices saw a solid decline from April to July 2023.
Analyzing the prices of one of the leading distributors of solar equipment, A1 solar store, I noticed that the prices of PV modules fell by an average of 12.3%
Thus, investments for 1 W of peak power in April averaged 0.89 USD and in July 0.77 USD.
Reference
Often, next to the ad for the panel, you can see the indication -10%–5%” and the like. It is often not clear to me to which period the indicated drop in prices refers. Considering that the price list reference for PV solar equipment is A1 Solar Store, one of the leading distributors in the USA, I follow their prices and analyze the situation.
One of the most important of solar equipment seller was used as a reference.
| no | Manufacture | power | April | July | DROP [%] | index April | index July | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Panasonic | 360 | 357.98 | 262.61 | 26.64 | 0.99 | 0.73 | |
| 2 | Q Cell | 400 | 394.75 | 311.22 | 21.16 | 0.99 | 0.78 | |
| 3 | Q Cell | 365 | 343.69 | 259.64 | 24.46 | 0.94 | 0.71 | |
| 4 | Q Cell – DUO | 480 | 342.69 | 344.74 | -0.60 | 0.71 | 0.72 | |
| 5 | Trina 390 | 244.19 | 228.92 | 6.25 | 0.63 | 0.59 | ||
| 6 | Mission Solar | 345 | 355.68 | 335.68 | 5.62 | 1.03 | 0.97 | |
| 7 | REC | 365 | 339.7 | 316.79 | 6.74 | 0.93 | 0.87 | |
| 8 | Canadian Solar | 355 | 317.35 | 290.66 | 8.41 | 0.89 | 0.82 |
PV solar panels prices reviewed from April to July 2023
The most affordable PV module that can be bought is from the renowned manufacturer Panasonic, for a 360 W model whose price has dropped by as much as 26.64%
Currently, its price index is 0.73 USD/W.
The big discount is the Q Cell manufacturer, whose 400 W and 355 W models fell by 21.16% and 24.48%.
The bifacial PV module Q Cell holds the price, and its price index is 0.72 USD/W.
Should you invest in bifacial you can read here …
Trina Solar, a Chinese manufacturer, lowered the prices of its panels, which were already low, from an index of 0.63 USD/W to 0.59 USD/W, so it is now in first place in the list of PV modules with a low price.
Mission Solar, the manufacturer of PV modules, has reduced the price of its 355W module by 5.62%, but its price index was high in April at over 1, and now it is 0.97, which is relatively high compared to the competition.
Canadian Solar, a well-known manufacturer of PV modules, has reduced the price of its 355 W model by 8.4% to a price index of 0.82 USD/W, making it a very appealing purchase option.
Prices of inverters
nverter prices are kept at the same level.
The European manufacturers SMA and Fronius are slightly more affordable than the American Outback, but they are significantly larger than the Chinese Growatt and Huawei.
Conclusion
According to the above analysis, it can be concluded that the prices of Chinese PV modules will continue to fall slowly and that this will affect the prices of producers in Korea, the USA, and Canada. The prices of other equipment (inverters and charge controllers) are still at the same level and will not drop significantly for now.
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