Main component in solar power dirt cheap

New York

PRICES for polysilicon - the main ingredient in solar cells - have dropped to a record low amid a supply glut that won't end soon.

There's so much of the shiny black stuff on the market that suppliers including Europe's Wacker Chemie AG, Hemlock Semiconductor Corp in the US and South Korea-based Hanwha Chemical Corp are losing money at spot prices that reached US$14.76 per kilogramme this month, down 31 per cent in the past year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

The global surplus is unlikely to ease with polysilicon manufacturers reluctant to curtail production because demand for solar power is surging, said Jenny Chase, lead solar analyst at New Energy Finance.…