U.S., China, Taiwan Gain Ground in Solar Cell Market
Japan continues to lose more of its hold on the PV market, according to IC Insights, which shows Sharp, Kyocera and other Japanese manufacturers slipping in 2008 rankings.
Aaron Hand, Executive Editor, Electronic Media -- PV Society, 7/21/2009
Although Japan's suppliers of photovoltaic cells and panels dominated the industry for years, Japan has been unable to regain its hold since Germany took over the market with its feed-in tariff incentives. Despite any recent efforts to the contrary, in fact, Japan's hold continues to slip further and will likely continue on that track in 2010. However, according to a recent release from IC Insights, cell and panel manufacturers in the United States, China and Taiwan have been gaining ground.
IC Insights' 2008 top 10 solar ranking includes suppliers from Japan, China, Taiwan, the United States and Germany. But Japan's Sharp Corp. has lost the No. 1 ranking it held in 2006 and several years before that, and has in fact slipped to No. 4 in the latest ranking - behind Germany's Q-Cells AG, U.S.-based First Solar Inc. and China's Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. Both Q-Cells and Suntech passed Sharp in the 2007 rankings, but First Solar, which makes thin-film panels based on cadmium telluride (CdTe), pulled past Suntech and Sharp in 2008 with a 144% sales boost.
Sharp was not the only Japanese supplier whose position declined in the 2008 ranking. Kyocera Corp. slipped from the No. 5 spot in 2007 to No. 6 in 2008. Sanyo, which was No. 7 in the 2007 ranking, did not make it into the 2008 top 10, and Mitsubishi also dropped in the ranking. For its part, Sharp has announced ambitious plans for expansion of its capacity to manufacture and sell silicon-based thin-film panels over the near term, which could help the Japanese supplier regain some ground.
Other than First Solar, the risers in the top 10 list were suppliers based in China or Taiwan. JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. rose from No. 10 to No. 7 in the ranking based on 109% growth in sales in 2008. Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. advanced from No. 9 to No. 8 with 93% growth.
In Taiwan, Motech Industries Inc. swapped seats with Kyocera, moving from No. 6 to No. 5 thanks to a 67% increase in sales. Skyrocketing into the top 10 from its previous No. 12 ranking, Gintech Energy Corp. had growth equal to that of First Solar.
At the bottom of the list is Solar World AG, a German company that holds the distinction of being the biggest manufacturer of PV cells in the United States, thanks to the recent expansion of its plant in Hillsboro, Ore. U.S.-headquartered cell manufacturer SunPower Corp. almost made it into the top 10 in 2008, but SunPower manufactures its cells in the Philippines.
Rankings are based on the peak-megawatt value of the PV devices produced and sold by each supplier, including PV cells, as well as PV panels in the case of thin-film PV. Cell-based panels are not included to avoid counting cells twice. Gintech, like JA Solar, makes solar cells only; these two companies follow the business model of top-ranked Q-Cells, which has only recently started to diversify beyond pure-play PV cell manufacturing. Other suppliers in the top 10 are involved in panel manufacturing, system installations, and other aspects of the solar value chain.
Future PV device rankings are expected to show significant changes due to the small increments that separate many of the top players. The top four suppliers all achieved market shares of 8-9.5%. A second tier of suppliers was formed by those ranked No. 5 through No. 10, all having 4-5% market share, and with several additional suppliers close on their heels.
JA Solar Holdings Names Fang CEO
01/25/2010First Solar Wins Major PV Order in China
09/07/2009
