It’s that time of year when the industry presents its next year’s product and programs to the dealer and distributor base. Normally vendors walk in and the customers are eager to hear about price discounts.
However this year, customers are more likely to want to know how we are going to supply! Luckily, we’re in a good position due to long term supply contracts and our own manufacturing facility. But for others, there is a real problem. If you are a distributor or dealer, even if you have contracts, there has been and will continue to be shortages in the industry. Sharp, one of the industry leaders, just announced price increases of up to 19% on their modules in the USA market!
Recently, I was interviewed by thewatt.com’s Ben Kenney on this topic. If you’re interested, you can click here to listen in. Ben’s questions centered around how the industry is going to handle the growth of demand as well as the issues of standards.
So for anyone wanting to buy solar, if you can get your hands on it, and you can verify that its made by a reputable maker (the manufacturer is not necessarily the same as the brand that appears on the solar panel), then my suggestion is that you grab it! Here’s another link indicating what is happening in pricing now and expected to continue through 2006…
Regards from my “holiday”,
Sass
PS> Sharp’s brave announcement is attached here Download file