Solar industry facing "grim price competition" according to new Research and Markets report

Research and Marketsannounced the availability of the "Global and Chinese Advanced Flat Glass Industry Report, 2011." Advanced flat glass in the report is defined as low-E glass, solar glass, automotive glass and electronic display glass.

According to the report, low-E glass and solar glass are among the "hottest investment topics at present," but their gross margin is less than that of large-size TFT-LCD substrate. In Europe and the United States, the utilization rate of low-E glass is high, but few buildings are erected each year. In contrast, China inputs huge amounts of money to build public and commercial buildings each year, so it is the largest market for low-E glass, Research and Markets reports. However, in China's civil architecture sector, the penetration rate of low-E glass is low due to the price, so the market size will see no considerable growth in the short run, analysts say.

The market size of solar (PV) glass is relatively small, according to the new report, with the solar industry witnessing grim price competition that causes sharp decline in gross margin. Research and Markets estimates that the market size of TCO glass in 2011 will reach approximately 57.092 million square meters, worth $1.3 billion.

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