pv prices

ws9876
ws9876 Solar Expert Posts: 448 ✭✭✭
in General Solar Power Topics #1
so they say prices are going up..
can I still get a 250 watt 36v for under a dollar a watt this fall??
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  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,006 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #2
    Re: pv prices

    I don't know if they are going up, still a lot of bargains, if your willing to go with the possibility the builder will be out of business, Topoint was the last bargain, with panels as low as 59 cents a watt, and Suntech, one of the largest manufacturers, hasn't flooded the market yet, it looks like they might not make it, that should put a good size flood of panels on the market, but they did sell off some to raise capitol in the winter.

    But of course the government imposed tariff on cells has been expanded, but also challenged... Who knows, flip a coin!
    Home system 4000 watt (Evergreen) array standing, with 2 Midnite Classic Lites,  Midnite E-panel, Magnum MS4024, Prosine 1800(now backup) and Exeltech 1100(former backup...lol), 660 ah 24v Forklift battery(now 10 years old). Off grid for 20 years (if I include 8 months on a bicycle).
    - Assorted other systems, pieces and to many panels in the closet to not do more projects.
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  • ws9876
    ws9876 Solar Expert Posts: 448 ✭✭✭
    #3
    Re: pv prices

    btw what happened to the patents that Evergreen Solar had for string ribbon tech when they went out of business???
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  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,006 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #4
    Re: pv prices

    They were actually purchased by a China company, at one time it looked like they might even continue the name and warranty the existing panels, but I haven't been to their web site in a while. It was mostly dead last time I looked. I don't know if they bought out of receivership or just existing assets. I'm not lawyer so likely I'm murdering the nomenclature.
    Home system 4000 watt (Evergreen) array standing, with 2 Midnite Classic Lites,  Midnite E-panel, Magnum MS4024, Prosine 1800(now backup) and Exeltech 1100(former backup...lol), 660 ah 24v Forklift battery(now 10 years old). Off grid for 20 years (if I include 8 months on a bicycle).
    - Assorted other systems, pieces and to many panels in the closet to not do more projects.
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  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,166 ✭✭✭✭
    #5
    Re: pv prices

    IMHO, we are seeing costs that are too low to be sustained. Manufacturers beat each other to death, resulting in unsustainable market prices. Some went under, some made it through - but the industry has not reached anything close to maturity yet.

    Years ago I worked for an outfit called Sun Edison. We were doing 10-15 megawatt ground mount utility scale systems, along with 50KW rooftop systems for retail customers like Kohls, Whole Foods, Costco, etc. In 2009, our CEO announced that we had broken a price barrier on PV modules by committing to a $10 million purchase. We almost gasped at the super low negotiated price of $5.00/watt.

    I don't have a crystal ball, but I suspect that as artificial stimuli like taxpayer funded incentives dry up, the base price will climb to a natural level - which will be higher than today.

    Just an opinion, not intended as a statement of fact............. we may see $0.10 modules soon!

    Marc
    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
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  • ws9876
    ws9876 Solar Expert Posts: 448 ✭✭✭
    #6
    Re: pv prices

    prices need to stay low... or people will totally turn off.. its hard not to..
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  • CDN_VT
    CDN_VT Solar Expert Posts: 492 ✭✭✭
    #7
    Re: pv prices

    I ordered mine last year , I wanted a heavier /thicker glass for hail & snow load / storm strikes but still higher watt so loss from the thicker glass wasn't going to hurt as much.
    I paid up front deposit , ordered , and now have 2 pallet's delivered. I was told as the panels are assembled , tests are done to show the outputs of the crystals , then are arranged to fit a sizing wattage panel . Some are 250 watt up to 350 watt for the same size , but the cells are / or have different outputs . It's when they get a superior cell build for a panel , then that set of cell plates are joined with a thicker glass. 300 watt panels at 4.2mm glass or 350W at 3.2 mm glass as explained to me.

    So you get what you pay for , as with life .

    VT
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  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,006 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #8
    Re: pv prices
    Marc Kurth wrote: »
    In 2009, our CEO announced that we had broken a price barrier on PV modules by committing to a $10 million purchase. We almost gasped at the super low negotiated price of $5.00/watt.

    Marc, that makes no sense, retail price at a consumer level was available below $5 a watt in 2009. It had to be 2006 when I purchased Blems at @$3.50 a watt delivered, and I could buy Grade 'A' for <$5 a watt.
    Home system 4000 watt (Evergreen) array standing, with 2 Midnite Classic Lites,  Midnite E-panel, Magnum MS4024, Prosine 1800(now backup) and Exeltech 1100(former backup...lol), 660 ah 24v Forklift battery(now 10 years old). Off grid for 20 years (if I include 8 months on a bicycle).
    - Assorted other systems, pieces and to many panels in the closet to not do more projects.
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  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,166 ✭✭✭✭
    #9
    Re: pv prices

    Sorry - yes. The company began to collapse in 2009 - my last day was in June of '09. It was several years before that!
    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
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