China's solar glass shortage to drag on panel output into 2021
A shortage of solar glass which is already crimping China's solar panel output is expected to persist through the first half of 2021, with large format glass in short supply for longer, panel makers and analysts say.
Driven by growing preference for bifacial modules - which produce power from both sides of the panel - and larger panels, demand is outpacing production capacity addition. An installation rush in the last quarter of the year has worsened the shortfall.
China is the world's biggest manufacturer of photovoltaic products, with almost 80% of the world's solar panel production capacity in 2019.
In China they need about two years to fully come online to get production capacity up. Glass production is expected to increase next year as new capacity from glass makers Xinyi Solar and Flat Glass comes online, but large panel supplies will run short throughout 2021.
