Looks like the Obama administration, EU and Beijing are going to settle.
Via the NY Times: “The plan that is starting to take shape would essentially carve up the global solar panel market into a series of regional markets. It would sharply raise the price of solar panels exported from China, the world’s dominant producer, by requiring Chinese companies to charge more while limiting the total number of solar panels they could ship.”
Questions still remain, of course, as to how economically viable solar power is, especially as it pertains to the overall U.S. domestic energy production mix…
As far as metal prices within the renewable energy sector go, this past week, U.S. steel plate dropped 2.3 percent on the weekly Renewables MMI®, landing as the week’s biggest mover. Korean steel plate prices held steady from the previous week. Japanese steel plate traded sideways last week. Chinese steel plate remained unchanged for the week.
Chinese renewables prices were mixed for the week. Chinese cobalt cathodes saw a 1.0 percent decline over the past week. The price of silicon did not change since the previous week. Prices for neodymium remained constant, closing the week flat. The grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) coil price fell 5.0 percent over the last month on the MetalMiner IndX℠.
The Renewables MMI® collects and weights 8 metal price points used extensively within the renewable energy industry to provide a unique view into renewable energy metal price trends.