Although the demand for products related to the photovoltaic sector is growing in Europe, companies in the sector struggle to offer competitive prices, especially if they have decided to keep their manufacturing plants within European borders. This is revealed by the latest data collected by Lux Research, which has undertaken to draw up a ranking of the ten largest solar panel manufacturers in the world. Unfortunately, no European company appears in the top ten.
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Although in Europe the demand for products related to photovoltaic sector is growing, the companies in the sector they struggle to offer competitive prices, especially if they have decided to keep their manufacturing plants within European borders. This is revealed by the latest data collected by Lux Research, which has undertaken to draw up a ranking of ten largest manufacturers of solar panels of the world. Unfortunately, no European company appears in the top ten.
Maintaining its production on the territory certainly constitutes a good opportunity to exercise a major quality control of the same. However, this leads to a sore point, concerning prices and earnings. THE production costs in Europe they are in fact higher than what happens, for example, in Asian countries. It follows that the photovoltaic panels produced within the European borders are sold at higher prices than similar products of foreign origin, so that companies can still guarantee a profit.
An example of the attempt to implement both behaviors comes from the Norwegian Renewable Energy Corporation (REC), which in recent months has drastically reduced its production on site, while continuing to maintain the production efficiency of its plants at the highest levels. located in Singapore, thus managing to guarantee itself a certain competitiveness on the market.
The companies in the top ten are responsible for the 44% of world production of photovoltaic panels. These include some of the largest companies based in China, among which the names of giants such as Trina, Suntech Power and Yingii stand out. To make its entry into the top ten of 2011 is the Neo Solar Power, company based in Taiwan, responsible for 3% of global solar panel production, which ranks tenth and last in the ranking.
In first place we find the US First Solar, which has relocated a large part of its production to Malaysia. Its production, equal to 6% of the world total, is on the same level as that of Asia SuntechPower, which occupies the second place. The Chinese Yingli Green Energy it follows them immediately, with a percentage of 5%. The remaining six companies in the top ten each gain 4 percentage points: the Chinese Trina Solar, SunPower, MotechSolar and Ja Solar, the Japanese Sharp and the Canadian Canadian Solar, which however operates mainly in China.
According to Lux Research analysts, the Asian production of photovoltaic panels will be able to secure itself in a short time 50% or more of the market, without taking into account the disappointment and disputes that will presumably soon become even more alive in the West. An opening that should not be underestimated in order for the situation to turn out to be in favor of Europe could be constituted by the additional prizes to the incentive rates proposed by the Quarto Conto Energia, aimed at companies able to combine the photovoltaic systems created by them with a certification regarding the energy efficiency achieved by the buildings on which they will be installed. But also groped to compete on the innovation front by placing on the market increasingly efficient modules capable of maximizing investments.
Marta Albè
