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The last quarter of 2015 is proving to be a great one for solar manufacturers. Massive increase in demand driven by countries like China and USA is pushing up their revenues and profits. Most large manufacturers such as Trina Solar, First Solar etc. are sold out for the next year as well and have maxed out their capacities. The last downturn has made most large players circumspect in expanding capacities and some of them are relying on Tier 2 and Tier 3 players for meeting the growing demand. Even wafer prices have strengthened somewhat in the last couple of months, though module and poly prices remain subdued. Taiwanese cell makers which supply to major solar players in USA, Japan and China have seen the best month of sales in October. Taiwanese makers work mostly in the short term contract market and their rising sales indicates the tightness in the global solar market. Motech, Solartech and Neo Solar have reported record revenues, as they ship increased volumes to their customers.
Even though the Japanese customers and SunEdison have cut down orders, Chinese Tier 1 players have increased sourcing as they see surging demand from the top solar markets such as Japan and China. India is going to become of the biggest markets in the coming years, with demand expected to reach 10 GW by 2017. This will make it the 3rd to 4th largest market in the world, with 1000% increase in volumes. Asian players have an advantage due to their established supply chains and lower transportation costs.
Some Chinese companies are already establishing a beachhead with JA Solar and Trina Solar planning factories in India. REC which is a major European manufacturer has also seen its volumes and revenues jump, thanks to the growing USA demand. 2016 is going to be a good year for the solar industry as India and USA become major markets. China may be a bit flat as the volumes are already quite high at around 15-20 GW, while Japan is seeing grid capacity constraints. Restart of nuclear power and an economic slowdown will also curtail the demand for energy in Japan.