Korea’s solar power industry about to collapse

The Seoul Bankruptcy Court recently told Woongjin Energy to stop its corporate rehabilitation procedure. This means the only remaining solar wafer and ingot manufacturer in South Korea is about to go under and the solar power industry of the country is about to collapse. Woongjin Energy was set up in 2006 as a joint venture of Woongjin Group and SunPower and has become another company in the industry that failed to compete with Chinese companies.

In the solar power industry, polysilicon is turned into ingots and wafers and these are turned into solar cells and modules for use in solar power generation. China’s current market shares in the ingot and wafer segments amount to 95 percent and 97 percent, respectively. In other words, it is extremely hard for non-Chinese companies to survive in the industry.

The industry can be roughly divided into three sections. The upstream market covers polysilicon, ingots, wafers, and other materials and components, the midstream market is related to solar cells and modules, and the downstream market is about equipment, construction, repair and maintenance. In the past, South Korean companies were found in every value chain. Now, on the other hand, polysilicon supplier OCI is the only one remaining there.

Meanwhile, the global solar power generation market is growing rapidly. According to the International Energy Agency, this power generation method is expected to account for one-third of the global total power generation in 2050. China’s leading position in the industry is rock-solid. It has invested US$50 billion in the industry for the past 10 years to increase its global market share from 50 percent to 80 percent.

Source: BusinessKorea