Surging global demand for solar panels is prompting Canadian Solar Inc. to predict a shortage of supply in the second half of this year.
The company expects to sell 4.3 GW of panels this year, a 39% increase over 2014, and will complete another 1 GW of projects through the end of 2016 after acquiring San Francisco-based Recurrent Energy in March. But along the way, “imbalance may appear,” CEO Shawn Qu told Bloomberg. “Customers’ real demand has been growing.”
“The forecast for scarcity contrasts with a glut that wiped out profits across the industry in the early part of this decade,” Shen writes. “It helps explain decisions by the top manufacturers, including Trina Solar Ltd. and Jinko Solar Holding Co., to build more capacity.” Bloomberg New Energy Finance expects the industry as a whole to install 57.2 GW of new capacity this year, up from 40 GW last year.
