The lowest price is nearly 0.38 yuan/W! European modules are clearing out their inventory at the end of the year, and the price hits a new low

As solar panel prices continued to fall in November, solar panel  prices are expected to “recover slightly” in December, according to the latest pv.index report.

The pv.index report for November released by sun.store shows that prices have remained relatively stable since May, with all modules priced below €0.1/Wp ($0.105).

Krzysztof Rejek, head of business development at sun.store, said, "The downward price trend continued in November, with all market segments hitting new lows, with some solar panels even offering prices close to 0.05 euros/Wp (0.383 yuan/Wp). Driven by the year-end clearance action, distributors continue to adopt clearance strategies." "Looking ahead to December, we expect prices to recover slightly due to limited production capacity in China and reduced export tax rebates for modules. However, discounted stocks offered by distressed distributors may keep the overall average price at a competitive level." According to price monitoring, the largest drop between October and November was in n-type bifacial solar panels, which fell from 0.103 euros/Wp to 0.093 euros/Wp (0.7114 yuan/Wp), a drop of 10%. The reasons for the price drop are increased competition and excess inventory. As shown in the figure above, the price reduction of other components ranges from 2% for monofacial p-type components to 9% for all-black solar panels, and the current price is 0.09 euros/Wp (0.6884 yuan/Wp).

It is worth noting that the current component prices in Europe are almost synchronized with the domestic component prices. The advantages of the high premium market in Europe in the past seem to have disappeared in this round of competition and price wars, which requires sufficient attention.

In October, the prices of hybrid inverters fluctuated, depending on the capacity. The prices of grid-connected inverters all fell.

Due to the growing demand for advanced residential solutions, the price of hybrid inverters with a capacity of less than 15kW rose by 7% per month to 127.18 euros/kW. This is a positive result for the inverter market. Several inverter manufacturers are facing a decline in revenue and shipments in 2024, struggling in the "challenging" residential photovoltaic market.

The resilience of the European solar market

Another indicator covered by sun.store is called the Photovoltaic Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which is used to measure the intentions of users registered on the platform. In November, the PMI was stable at 68, similar to the previous month.

sun.store said that while this may show some resilience on the demand side, it also reflects seasonal shifts and broader economic uncertainty.

Filip Kierzkowski, head of cooperation and trade, said: "The stable PMI shows that the European solar market is resilient even as it enters the traditional off-season. It is encouraging that people's interest in high-quality components remains consistent despite external challenges."

In the last month of the year, purchasing intentions were the same as in November, with 51% of respondents saying they planned to increase purchases, up from 50% last month, 35% planned to maintain current purchase levels, and only 14% planned to reduce orders.