Domestic Suppliers Facing Increasing Difficulties
People Power Party lawmaker Han Moo-kyung remarked on Feb. 9 that South Korea’s low-iron patterned glass production for use in solar panels is zero and its dependence on imports from China is almost 100 percent, with its dependence on Chinese photovoltaic cells and modules increasing fast.
Low-iron patterned glass is an essential component of photovoltaic modules. Its iron content is 200 ppm or less, about one-fifth of the iron content of general plate glass. The component accounts for about 7 percent of the manufacturing cost of a solar panel, third-biggest behind cell and aluminum frame manufacturing costs.
The global solar photovoltaic glass market is growing rapidly these days. According to market research firms, the market is expected to grow from US$4.5 billion to US$37.6 billion from 2018 to 2026.
Chinese companies’ current share in the market amounts to 93 percent. When it comes to safety glass with a thickness of 8 mm or less for use in solar panels, South Korea’s annual imports from China jumped from US$217 million to US$352 million from 2018 to last year.
Chinese products are increasing their shares in South Korea based on their price competitiveness, and domestic suppliers are facing increasing difficulties. The share of domestically supplied solar photovoltaic modules fell from 78.4 percent to 63.2 percent from 2019 to 2021, when that of those imported from China rose from 21.6 percent to 36.7 percent. In that period, the share of Chinese cells jumped from 38.3 percent to 61 percent.
The number of South Korean companies in the industry dropped from 118 to 97 from 2017 to 2019. OCI and Hanwha Solutions stopped domestic polysilicon production in 2020 and Woongjin Energy as an ingot manufacturer went into receivership in 2020.