Photovoltaic prices soared in Europe and America in the first half of the year

    The rise in solar energy prices in Europe is more affected by the energy crisis caused by the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, resulting in continued increases in energy prices. In June this year, the spot price of the European Solar Power Off Grid Power Exchange once exceeded 400 euros/MWh, approaching a record high, equivalent to RMB 3-5/kWh. One of the main factors behind the rise in solar prices.

    Although the increase in solar energy prices in the United States is not as exaggerated as in Europe, the situation is also severe, and it is more affected by policy factors. Under the influence of harsh policies, the ten-year decline in the cost of renewable energy in the United States in the second quarter of this year even reversed. According to foreign media reports last Wednesday, U.S. solar prices surged more than 8.1% in the second quarter of this year. According to LevelTen Energy’s quarterly index tracking renewable energy transactions, U.S. solar power purchase agreement (PPA) prices in the first half of the year were 25.7% higher than last year. The combined PPA prices for and wind energy increased by 29.7%; P25 solar and wind energy PPA reached US$41.92/MWh, an increase of 5.3% from the previous quarter and an increase of more than 30% year-on-year.

    On the one hand, the rise in solar prices in the United States is affected by the soaring prices of the photovoltaic industry chain, and more importantly, policy factors. In the first half of the year, the U.S. Department of Commerce's investigation into solar energy products in Southeast Asia directly led to a surge in the cost of solar energy production in the United States, and a large number of domestic solar energy projects in the United States were stagnant. The U.S. region is also suffering from inflation, with logistical disruptions and rising labor costs leading to soaring solar costs, reversing a decade of cost declines in the renewable energy sector.