The roller-coaster ride is best seen through the lens of polysilicon, the key material in solar panels. Prices fell more than 40% over the course of a few weeks starting in December, and then rebounded more than 50% in less than a month.
“The solar value chain has undergone one of the most volatile two months in history, with major product prices bumping up and down by wide margins,” said Tony Fei, an analyst with BOCI Research. The firm said the volatility was the result of “extreme inter-segment competition for profits”. The ups and downs so far haven’t had an impact on overall solar demand, which grew by a record amount last year that is expected to be eclipsed this year. But it is causing multibillion-dollar solar giants to rapidly adjust pricing strategies as they whipsaw between seeking to protect profit margins and market share.