Coronavirus outbreak: Consequences in the PV industry

According to the latest information we have from our manufacturers, factories are operating with great limitations, meaning production capacity is reduced. Most of the major manufacturers are now producing only small quantities and do not expect a return to full scale production anytime soon. The primary issue is a lack of silicon wafers and glass caused by the aforementioned disruption of the supply chain. One might think that the best alternatives are European module manufacturers, but this is not entirely the case. Most European manufacturers are in fact, also dependent on raw materials from China.

The stock availability of modules both in Europe and China is rapidly decreasing. Some of the pre-orders from China were delayed by more than a month and the situation is not likely to improve much in the upcoming weeks. As a result of continuous complications, we may be expecting a price rise of the solar modules in the short term and ongoing problems with availability.

The good news is that the obtainability of inverters remains untouched. We have good stock availability for various types of Fronius and SolarEdge inverters. Though several components from China are needed for their production, therefore we might have to face some negative effects in that field in the following months as well.

We would like to kindly ask you to remain patient as the situation is constantly changing.The only way to secure future orders and have them delivered on time is to plan ahead and place the order as much in advance as possible.