KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 11): The global solar market is hitting record highs in volumes of installations, and new lows in prices of modules, accoring to strategic research firm Bloomberg NEF (BNEF).

In a report last week (Sept 5), BNEF increased its build forecast yet again, particularly due to acceleration in China, but also due to a rapid build in other established markets, and updates on the global situation as of the third quarter of 2023.

BNEF said polysilicon makers had reduced production a little, and prices had stabilised, but it still expects huge oversupply in the second half of the year.

It said margins across the photovoltaic value chain are under pressure, as competition is intense among Chinese manufacturers, while the module inventory is high in Europe and other large markets.

The firm said the price of standard solar modules hit an all-time low of 16.5 US cents per watt in August, and the research firm expects it to fall further by year end.

BNEF said China is installing huge volumes of solar, and it is increasingly clear that local plans and targets for builds serve as a lower bound rather than an upper one on what actually happen in China.

Meanwhile, the firm said it expects South Africa to add five gigawatts of capacity this year, as residential and commercial consumers respond to chronic power outages.

BNEF said that increasingly, both large and small solar plants worldwide are being paired with storage.

It said this is mandated in several Chinese provinces, and written into auctions in many other countries.