Solar Energy Industry to use an impressive $1.5 Billion worth of Silver Metal

Solar Panels has suddenly become one of the biggest industrial consumers of the Silver Metal in 2010.The massive growth of the solar industry has surprised analysts and forecasters alike and caused surprising demand in the most unlikely of places.With 15-17 GW of Solar Panel Production estimated in 2010,the silver consumption will be around 65 million ounces or 1800 tons.With production of around 21000 tons,the Solar Industry is now responsible for around 9% of the global Silver production.Note Despite  Silver touching new record highs,it has not affected the solar prices much which have continued to decline by almost 50% in the last couple of years.

Note Silver is used in Solar Panels both of crystalline silicon and thin film variety for reflection purposes.It also finds use in the Solar Thermal Industry.With Silver trading at around $900/kg,it implies that the Solar Industry consumed $1.5 Billion of the Silver Metal.This is more than double the amount in 2009.Silver metalization paste has become a great business for line for Taiwan based Giga Solar Materials which is the leading supplier for silver metalization paste for solar panels.The company made an impressive debut in the Taiwan Stock Exchange rising  by 32%

Future consumption of silver by the solar production should increase but  not at the same rate as the industry matures and reduces expensive materials.Thin Film panels use less amount of silver as well and their marketshare should increase as a percentage of the total market.

Shares of solar cell materials firm jump on OTC debut – Focus Taiwan

Shares of Giga Solar Materials Corp., a provider of conductive materials for solar cell use, staged a rally Thursday in the first trading session on the over-the-counter (OTC) market amid optimism toward its earnings outlook, dealers said.

Giga Solar closed at NT$661.00 (US$21.71), up 32.20 precent from the listing price of NT$500, with 1.38 million shares changing hands, while the OTC index fell 0.13 percent to 133.99 points.

Dealers said the market expects the company to generate an earnings per share of NT$36.10 for 2010, compared with NT$17.21 recorded in 2009.