America’s largest solar market is not without its waves and currents. Recent figures from the California Solar Initiative and Barclays Capital (via PV Tech) reveal a veritable battleground where big solar companies jostle for market share positions.
Compared with most industries in the throes of recession, you could say with confidence that the solar industry is sailing along smoothly, taking a few bumps and bruises, sure, but sailing into brighter days nonetheless. And naturally, any such prediction for the industry must include the players in it Apple A1175. But in solar power, being the competitive industry that it is, gains do not come without falls. The Mighty Ship of Solar sails on choppy seas.
Industry data for 2009 in California is certainly choppy. SolarWorld and Sharp Acer Aspire 3050 battery are prime examples. In the first quarter of 2009 (Q109), SolarWorld held 26% of the market, but fell all the way to 1% in the third quarter (Q309), only to rebound back to 11% in Q409. Sharp began the year at 12%, peaked at 24%, and now rests at 19% as the year comes to a close.
Those are a few examples of the big players. Smaller players in California are no exception to the trend of HP HSTNN-LB31 . First Solar, Sanyo, BP Solar, Mitsubishi and Evergreen Solar, all of whom jockey between 3-8% market share; had similar up-and-down years. A few, including Evergreen Solar and BP Solar, show overall growth for the year, but none are without crests and troughs.
Perhaps the most troubling statistics for any one company come for SunPower, a dominant leader in the California solar industry. Despite superior conversion efficiencies and Sony VGP-BPS9A/B product quality, SunPower’s share in California dropped considerably, and fairly consistently, in 2009. In 2008, SunPower commanded 22% of the Golden State market. By the end of Q409, that percentage is down to 14, and but for a small 1% rise from 16% to 17% in Q209, SunPower’s market share has been on a steady decline.
Obvious reasons for this decline, as illustrated by Mike Osborne of PV Tech, are SunPower’s high prices as Sony VGP-BPS8. SunPower is setting the bar in efficiency and quality, which should create steady profit margins, but in a recession and given other companies’ major strides in lowering production costs, the cheaper product is winning out.
A more subtle trend is undermining SunPower Dell Inspiron 6400 Battery and California’s other major industry players as well. Within the Barclays Capital data, this creeping threat lies in the “Other” category. A mysterious amalgamation of unknown companies has managed some major gains in California this year, beginning the year at 11% market share but improving to 22% and 23% in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.
Granted this is a group of companies with no single dominant player, but a huge, nearly 400% spike in market share from Q209 to Q309 is hard to ignore the Inspiron E1505 Battery. And the only real conclusion (admittedly an assumption) to draw from it is the influence of cheaper products being imported from China. This is an interesting trend, which I am not qualified to, well, qualify one way or another. Although, I am not without an opinion on the matter.
Another conclusion to be drawn from the volatile data extruded by Barclays Capital should make homeowners in California smile. For as long as there is no real dominant force in the California solar market, as long as competitors continue to wrestle for position, homeowners and businesses Dell Inspiron 1501 Battery will continue to reap the benefits of falling prices and eager service. As will the solar installers bolting those well-jockeyed solar power panels to California’s roofs.