U.S. Solar Prices Surge 20%... Hanwha Solutions and OCI Holdings Set to Benefit

[Financial News]  Securities analysts say expectations are growing that domestic solar companies, including Hanwha Solutions and OCI Holdings, will benefit as U.S. solar module and polysilicon prices rise together. An analysis suggests that the pricing power of Korean solar companies with local production capacity and non-Chinese supply chains could increase as tighter U.S. trade restrictions weaken the position of low-cost Chinese products.
According to Hana Securities on the 28th, 55% of suppliers active on Anza, a solar and energy storage system (ESS) procurement platform, had already quoted prices reflecting the impact of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.
The price increase has also been steep. The median price of imported modules before the policy announcement on August 7 was $0.27 per watt (W), while the median offer price for shipments delivered after December 4 reached $0.38, an increase of about 41%. Even for the same products and contract terms, prices rose by about 15%.
In the U.S., bifacial Mono PERC module prices have actually risen about 20% from the beginning of the year to $0.313 per watt. The increase reflects supply uncertainty stemming from antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) investigations into modules from India, Indonesia and Laos.
Polysilicon prices are also rising. U.S.-made polysilicon reached $20.45 per kilogram, up 1.5% from the previous week and nearing the $21 mark.
Securities analysts are focusing less on the price increases themselves than on the indirect benefits that the restructuring of the U.S. solar supply chain could bring to Korean companies. As the pricing structure centered on low-cost Chinese products is shaken, companies with production facilities in the United States could gain greater pricing power.
Kim Hyung-jun, an analyst at Hana Securities, said, "Rising U.S. module prices are a factor that strengthens the ability of U.S.-based producers such as Hanwha Solutions to negotiate new prices." He explained that the solar industry, together with semiconductor-grade polysilicon, is being reevaluated as a strategic national security asset of the United States.
He also said the development could provide a turning point for solar stocks that have undergone a correction amid concerns about regulatory easing following the recent U.S.-China summit. Hana Securities named OCI Holdings and Hanwha Solutions as its top picks in the solar sector.
[email protected] Kim Kyung-a Reporter