Today EnergyBin announced the release of their first annual (2021) PV Module Price Index for the Secondary Solar Market report. The PV module price index is the first of its kind for the secondary solar market giving the industry its first real look at pricing of crystalline-silicon modules at a wholesale level, outside of the traditional distribution channel.
As a B2B wholesale solar equipment exchange comprised of 500+ member companies, EnergyBin facilitates the connection of solar companies looking to buy and sell PV equipment. Although transactions do not take place on the EnergyBin platform, sales listings documented a total of 2.1 million modules (or 746 megawatts) posted to the site from the past two years. EnergyBin compiled the price index using its sales listings of modules posted, comparing 2020 to 2021.
“This data serves an important role in the growth of solar. We very much believe that a necessary component to solar becoming mainstream is for the industry to have a robust and vibrant secondary market,” says Renee Kuehl, Director of Sales & Marketing at EnergyBin. “The PV module price index presented by EnergyBin indicates the health of the secondary solar market and provides a needed resource in understanding the availability of modules with a range of technology classes, in various conditions (primarily new) that are not only affordably priced, relative to global prices, but in many cases are offered below market value.”
Although prices on the EnergyBin exchange for all c-Si module classes (except Low Cost and Used) increased in 2021, the percentage change from January 2020 to December 2021 was comparable to or lower than national average trends. Other than All Black modules, which saw a 25.3% increase, prices in each modules class didn’t change beyond what may be expected from year to year. In the High Efficiency and Low Cost classes, December 2021 prices decreased by 5% from January 2020 prices. The report also found that some prices paced below global averages. High Efficiency (340W and higher) and Mainstream (275W – 335W) modules listed as low as $0.24/watt and $0.25/watt respectively.
EnergyBin is leading the way when it comes to educating the solar industry on the benefits of engaging in second life opportunities for PV equipment. “Letting equipment pile up in warehouses or even recycling it when there is life left is counter-productive to the mission of solar itself; beyond that, there is real business opportunity here. Equipment savings, lowering soft costs, and fulfilling maintenance needs, to name a few, are all upshots of a secondary market.”
The modules reported in the price index are available via a wide variety of circumstances, again, proving the need for a strong secondary market. Excess inventory from projects completed, inventory from cancelled projects, and clearance efforts by companies wishing to free up storage space are common scenarios. EnergyBin provides the platform to move that equipment.
