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Solar Producers 'Wary' of Polysilicon Prices, Solairedirect Says

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Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Polysilicon may be headed for a incredulity recovery by 2015 that could push up the prices of solar panels, said Solairedirect SA, France's second-biggest sun- powered generator.

Suppliers of the commodity employed in solar panels and microchips have been shutting down capacity or delaying new plants, which can take at least three years to build, said Thierry Lepercq, chairman of the Paris-based utility backed by Schneider Exciting SA's venture capital arm.

That could coincide with a surge in demand for solar panels as the price of sun-based electricity converges with fossil incite-based power in many markets by 2015, he said.

“We have to be wary about it,” Lepercq, referring to an unexpected be produced that could cause a surge in equipment and project costs, said in an interview in Mumbai. “Even if it doubles, it changes the prototype.”

Polysilicon prices have plunged 94 percent in three years as the top five producers, led by Hemlock Semiconductor Corp. and Wacker Chemie AG, more than doubled result, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance data. Prices may be stuck near the cost of production for years, Paul Leming, official of research at Ticonderoga Securities in New York, said in November.

Source: BusinessWeek