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					</table>China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (<a href="https://www.samr.gov.cn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SAMR</a>) issued compliance guidance in Hefei, Anhui Province, to regulate the order of price competition in the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry.
SAMR briefed participants on price-related violations and risk issues in the PV sector, noting that current problems, such as low-quality competition and homogeneous, repetitive capacity expansion, have led to widespread profitability issues.
These practices have distorted market resource allocation, dampened incentives for investment in technological innovation and product upgrades.
SAMR emphasized that the entire industry must fully recognize the importance of rectifying involution-style competition in the PV sector. Solar companies must conduct production and business operations in accordance with laws and regulations, and are strictly prohibited from engaging in price collusion, price fraud, and other improper pricing practices.
They must also firmly eliminate unfair competition practices such as false advertising and commercial bribery. Power generators must take their responsibilities seriously by adhering to the principle of high-quality, fair-priced PV project tenders and by strengthening product quality requirements.
Industry associations are urged to perform their self-regulatory functions effectively, guide enterprises to achieve win-win outcomes through innovation, quality improvement, and service upgrades, and jointly promote a healthy, orderly, and sustainable industry ecosystem.
SAMR stated that it will intensify product quality supervision, strengthen enforcement of prices and anti-unfair competition, severely crack down on illegal and non-compliant activities, safeguard fair market competition, and promote the standardized, healthy, and sustainable development of the photovoltaic industry.
Officials from SAMR, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Commerce, along with representatives from market regulation departments in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, and Qinghai provinces, as well as power generators, solar companies, and industry associations, attended the meeting.
China recently <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/china-files-case-against-indias-solar-subsidies-at-wto/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed</a> a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against India’s solar photovoltaic subsidies, alleging that they provide an unfair competitive advantage to Indian companies and harm Chinese interests.
China and India have on many occasions taken their trade disputes concerning clean energy to the WTO. Back in 2023, China <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/china-flags-indias-almm-mandate-wto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised</a> a ‘Specific Trade Concern’ against India’s regulation that permits the deployment of only domestically manufactured solar modules for all projects across the country under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers mandate.

China’s Market Regulator Steps in to Stabilize Solar Pricing

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					</table>Overall solar module median pricing in the U.S. increased by 14% or $0.035/W from January to November, according to <a href="https://www.anzarenewables.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anza Renewables</a>’ Q4 2025 Quarterly Pricing &amp;  Domestic Content Report. The report highlighted that rapid and monumental policy changes drove the rise in module prices.
<a href="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/USmedian1.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-87930 size-full" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/USmedian1.png" alt="" width="595" height="381" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/USmedian1.png 595w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/USmedian1-300x192.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 595px) 100vw, 595px" /></a>
The module price was $0.25/W at the start of the year, rising to $0.28/W in May. According to the report, a tariff reprieve in June brought the prices back down to $0.265/W.
Anza also saw a surge in solar procurements ahead of the safe harbor to claim Investment Tax Credits, with over 20 customers collectively securing over 1 GW of solar power.
Anza said that while median module prices stood firm around $0.28/W in November, it expects the solar market to be shaken up in early 2026 due to the Section 232 investigation.
The Section 232 Investigation aims to determine whether imported solar modules or cells pose a threat to national security.
Module Technology
Prices of Monocrystalline Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell (Mono PERC) rose slightly above Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact (TOPCon) modules, as buyers prioritized the mature Mono PERC supply chain during the safe harbor rush in the third quarter (Q3).
<a href="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/USmedian2.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-87931 size-full" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/USmedian2.png" alt="" width="395" height="230" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/USmedian2.png 395w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/USmedian2-300x175.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 395px) 100vw, 395px" /></a>
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Since August, pricing for all three major technologies has remained essentially flat. The trend signals a return to more normalized spreads as the market stabilizes post the safe harbor deadline.
In November, the median pricing was $0.275/W for Mono PERC, $0.285/W for TOPCon, and $0.39/W for HJT.
Domestic and International Modules
Prices of domestic solar modules using domestic cells dropped by 2.2%, or $0.01, from $0.43/W in August to $0.42/W in November.
<a href="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/USmedian3.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-87932 size-full" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/USmedian3.png" alt="" width="397" height="245" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/USmedian3.png 397w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/USmedian3-300x185.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 397px) 100vw, 397px" /></a>
Prices of domestic solar modules with imported cells increased by $0.02 or 5.9% from August to November, rising to $0.36/W.
The report noted that buyers preferred domestic solar modules using imported cells, with domestic balance-of-system components.
It added that buyers can also combine domestic modules using imported cells with U.S.-made components such as racking and inverters, or strategically blend them with other modules to reduce capital expenditure (CAPEX) and maximize value.
The report also noted that prices of imported modules remained flat at $ 0.265/W from August to November.
Energy Storage
The AC Wrap median CAPEX price of Energy storage systems in the distributed generation (DG) segment fell to $212/kWh in November, a 6.8% drop of $15/kWh from August. The energy storage prices in the segment peaked at $236/kWh in May.
<a href="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/USmedian4.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-87933 size-full" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/USmedian4.png" alt="" width="407" height="566" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/USmedian4.png 407w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/USmedian4-216x300.png 216w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 407px) 100vw, 407px" /></a>
The distributed generation battery systems in the report consist of a 10 MW/4-hour DG system, and the utility-scale battery systems include a 200 MW/4-hour utility-scale system.
The self-integrated median pricing for energy storage in the distributed generation segment settled at $173/kWh, a 2.6% drop, or $5/kWh, from August. The energy storage prices peaked at $193/kWh in May.
For utility-scale projects, the AC Wrap median prices reached $194/kWh in November. The prices within the segment dropped by $23/kWh or 10.6% from August to November. Energy storage prices in the segment rose to $224/kWh in May.
Within the same segment, self-integrated pricing reached $158/kWh, a $12/kWh or 6.8% drop since August. Energy storage prices in the segment peaked at $177/kWh in May.
Outlook
According to the report, the number of suppliers providing U.S.-made cells will jump to 10 by 1H 2026 and to 12 by 1H 2027.
The number of suppliers offering U.S.-made battery energy storage system containers, modules, and cells is expected to double from three at the end of 2025 to six by the first half of 2026. The number of suppliers offering U.S.-made BESS containers, modules, and cells is expected to escalate to 10 by the end of 2026 and to 13 by 2027.
Anza reported that solar module prices for distributed generation projects in the U.S. increased by 3.7% to $0.28/W in Q3.
According to Anza, median platform prices for U.S. solar cells and modules were <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/us-median-solar-prices-declined-2-in-july-2025-to-0-49-w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">steady</a> at approximately $0.5 per watt through April 2025, then declined modestly by 2% to $0.49 per watt in July.

US Median Solar Module Prices Rose 14% Between January and November: Report

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					</table>Solar module prices in the U.S. dropped to a near record low of $0.25 per watt from November 2024 to February 2025, according to a report by <a href="https://www.anzarenewables.com/solar-module-pricing-insights/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anza Renewables</a>. The company noted that module prices declined steadily through November 2024 from last summer’s highs of $0.28 per watt.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-79145 size-full" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/parth-1.1.png" alt="" width="898" height="550" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/parth-1.1.png 898w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/parth-1.1-300x184.png 300w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/parth-1.1-768x470.png 768w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/parth-1.1-650x398.png 650w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/parth-1.1-624x382.png 624w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/parth-1.1-600x367.png 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 898px) 100vw, 898px" />
Prices increased by 4% between December 2024 and January 2025. This increase occurred due to the market pricing recalibration in response to President Trump’s tariff policies, forcing expectations to reset after months of gradual declines.
In March this year, Trump <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/trump-ends-support-for-solar-manufacturing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rescinded</a> an order of the previous administration that designated solar photovoltaics as elements of national security under Section 303 of the Defense Production Act.
Module prices leveled by February because of growing uncertainty over future tariff adjustments and policy debates.
The report states that the market is navigating complex shifts caused by evolving trade policies and buyer caution despite a 2% price increase since November.
Mono PERC
The recent market shifts benefited the mono-passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC) cell suppliers. This development occurred because of the ongoing tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) patent litigation among multiple Tier-1 suppliers.
TOPCon
Customer concerns over possible disruptions in TOPCon supply drove some of them to prefer Mono PERC modules. This preference change increased module prices by 4.2% since November to $0.25 per watt.
The report highlights that even though domestic cell suppliers reacted strongly to the litigations, many consumers do not view them as high risk. Therefore, the report does not consider litigation risks as the sole factor behind the consumers’ purchase decisions.
The median TOPCon module pricing remained steady at $0.26 per watt during the reference period.
Many consumers prefer TOPCon modules for their performance despite the potential retroactive litigation fines. TOPCon modules’ pricing is aligning more closely with MONO PERC notwithstanding the slight shift in market sentiment. This preference again highlights that legal issues are not causing mass TOPCon avoidance.
HJT
According to the report, heterojunction technology (HJT) module pricing decreased by 2.9% during the reference period. The decrease in HJT price reflects the pressures on TOPCon and Mono PERC modules.
HJT module manufacturers are likely testing their product pricing to discover the price point matching the advantages of higher efficiency, lower temperature coefficients, and reduced cold condition performance losses.
<a href="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ascsaa.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-79146 size-full" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ascsaa.png" alt="" width="810" height="436" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ascsaa.png 810w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ascsaa-300x161.png 300w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ascsaa-768x413.png 768w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ascsaa-650x350.png 650w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ascsaa-624x336.png 624w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ascsaa-600x323.png 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 810px) 100vw, 810px" /></a>
Cell Origins
Cells sourced from tariff-affected countries, including Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, drove a 7.7% price increase for modules using these components. Meanwhile, pricing for solar modules using cells from non-Southeast Asian nations decreased by 0.8% as buyers pivoted towards regions less impacted by the .
Recently, the U.S. Department of Commerce <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/us-steep-anti-dumping-solar-imports-southeast-asia">announced</a> its final determinations in the anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations concerning crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The widening solar cell price range between Southeast Asian nations and other countries underscores market pricing sensitivity to geopolitical trade policies.
Consumers are reconsidering their solar cell sources to diversify strategically and mitigate geopolitical risks.
<a href="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/jhc-asjd.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-79147 size-full" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/jhc-asjd.png" alt="cell origin pricing history " width="811" height="415" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/jhc-asjd.png 811w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/jhc-asjd-300x154.png 300w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/jhc-asjd-768x393.png 768w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/jhc-asjd-650x333.png 650w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/jhc-asjd-624x319.png 624w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/jhc-asjd-600x307.png 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 811px) 100vw, 811px" /></a>
Anza Renewables said it used median distributed generation list prices from more than 35 module vendors for this report. This sample size covers over 95% of the U.S. module supply.

US Solar Module Prices Dropped to $0.25/W Between November and February 2025

From: <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/canadian-solar-subsidiary-ipo-pricing-shanghai-bourse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mercom India</a>
<a href="https://www.canadiansolar.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Canadian Solar</a>, a solar module manufacturer headquartered in Canada, has revealed the pricing for the shares of <a href="https://www.csisolar.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CSI Solar</a>, its majority-owned subsidiary, as part of its proposed initial public offering (IPO) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
The proposed price for the IPO stands at RMB 11.10 (~$1.56) per share, with estimated total gross proceeds of approximately RMB 6 billion (~$844.13 million). Currently, Canadian Solar holds around 80% of the outstanding shares of CSI Solar.
CSI Solar intends to offer 541,058,824 shares, constituting 15% of the total outstanding shares of 3,607,058,824 after the IPO. It plans to provide the primary underwriter of the IPO with a 30-day option to purchase an additional 81,158,500 shares to accommodate potential over-allotments.
Assuming the over-allotment option is fully exercised, CSI Solar will issue 622,217,324 shares, approximately 17% of the 3,688,217,324 shares outstanding immediately following the IPO.
Last month, the China Securities Regulatory Commission <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/china-securities-commission-approves-canadian-solars-ipo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approved</a> the registration of CSI Solar to issue an IPO.
The company plans to use the proceeds from the IPO to accelerate vertical integration and capacity expansion, particularly in the U.S. market.
Following the completion of the IPO, assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised, Canadian Solar’s ownership in CSI Solar will be approximately 64%. However, if the over-allotment option is fully exercised, Canadian Solar’s ownership in CSI Solar will be around 62%.
The IPO issuance and subscription date was May 31, 2023, while the final confirmation of IPO share placement and allocations is expected to occur on June 5, 2023.
In 2020, the company <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/weekly-wrap-up-canadian-solar-freyr-energy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decided</a> to list its business on Chinese bourses. The company had said it would pursue a listing of its module and system solutions business either on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Science and Technology Innovation Board or the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s ChiNext market.
Earlier in January this year, CSI Solar had <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/canadian-solar-expand-solar-battery-capacity-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">entered</a> a multi-year investment agreement with the municipal government of Yangzhou City in Jiangsu Province of China for capacity additions across the company’s solar and battery storage supply chain. Through the agreement, CSI Solar aims to add vertically integrated high-efficiency wafer, cell, and module capacity, along with battery system manufacturing capacity in Yangzhou’s clean energy manufacturing industrial park.

Canadian Solar Subsidiary Announces IPO Pricing on Shanghai Bourse

The installations of wind power projects in India has decelerated, with only 2.3 GW installed in 2019, according to the <a href="https://gwec.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Global Wind Energy Council</a> (GWEC).
“That is around half of the 4.1 GW of volume installed in 2017 and reflects slow execution when held against the 12 GW of capacity awarded in central and state tenders since 2017,” states GWEC.
India is the world’s fourth-largest onshore wind market by installations, with 37.5 GW of capacity as of 2019. GWEC has pointed out that India’s wind sector and installations have been traditionally erratic and highly sensitive to policy changes. Further, it states that after the introduction of central auctions, which transformed the wind procurement mechanism in the country, the market entered a state of limbo.
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/MEC-1-1024x724-1.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-19687" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/MEC-1-1024x724-1.png" alt="Wind Installation Forecast &amp; Scenarios" width="1024" height="724" srcset="https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/MEC-1-1024x724-1.png 1024w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/MEC-1-1024x724-1-300x212.png 300w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/MEC-1-1024x724-1-768x543.png 768w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/MEC-1-1024x724-1-650x460.png 650w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/MEC-1-1024x724-1-624x441.png 624w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/MEC-1-1024x724-1-600x424.png 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
Previously, it <a href="https://mercomindia.com/india-achieve-wind-target-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">analyzed</a> the factors that led to a dip in the growth of India’s wind sector in the past two years.
GWEC has also listed seven key characteristics of the wind market in India:
<ul>
<li>The market will be inherently large and lumpy in installations</li>
<li>The demand is strong, and economics support wind capacity</li>
<li>The activity is muted in the market</li>
<li>The current orders are over 8 GW in the project pipeline</li>
<li>The issues choking actualization of existing and creation of a new pipeline</li>
<li>The government is actively resolving issues</li>
<li>The growth is likely to be lopsided.</li>
</ul>
The report noted that the Indian wind market has conventionally had fluctuating capacity additions, being highly sensitive to policy changes. Nearly 13 GW is expected to be installed in the next three years; however, the deployment will be unevenly distributed across years, geographies, and the market mechanism.
The demand for wind originates from non-RPO compliance by state DISCOMs, underlined GWEC. Nearly ~20 GW of demand exists in the market in terms of unfulfilled non-solar RPOs towards 2022. Economically, as well, wind auction bid prices are 30-40% lower than the average pooled power procurement cost (APPC) for the majority of states in India. So, demand and price are the fundamental drivers of wind support in India, added the report.
According to GWEC, although the tenders in 2017-18 were oversubscribed, in 2019, tenders couldn’t get much interest.
Wind installations levels have significantly declined after the reverse auction mechanism was <a href="https://mercomindia.com/advent-reverse-auctions-wind-player/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">introduced</a> in the wind sector after several years of growth. Before the auctions were introduced, wind projects were mostly developed by private companies for captive consumption or sale to the state. But all of this changed in 2017 when the reverse auction was introduced. The growth after the introduction of auctions has been disappointing as low bids and tariff caps have reduced participation of bidders resulting in under subscription in many of the tenders.
Several factors have led to the decline in the activity in this sector, including issues in the grid, land availability, payment delays for renewable projects, and a slowdown in the signing of power supply agreements. Furthermore, pricing expectations have remained aggressive. “The half-hearted attempts of state markets to revive demand and conduct auctions have largely been unsuccessful,” according to the report.
As <a href="https://mercomindia.com/2-07-wind-power-capacity-installed-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported previously</a> by Mercom, delay in the availability of land, grid curtailment, and issues in timely payments continue to drag on the existing wind pipeline.
Despite low uptake in the latest auctions, nearly 8.6 GW of active orders can be seen in India, said GWEC. The majority of the orders are from the 8-9 central auctions conducted between 2017-2019, while states contribute less than 11% of the active orders, given the low auctioning activity. Out of 8.6 GW, 3 GW is scheduled for commissioning in 2020, 5.2 GW in 2021, and 0.4 GW in 2022.
It added that the government is also planning a 25 GW plug-and-play wind park for wind capacity to resolve issues of land and grid and provide long-term volume visibility.
However, it states that the growth will be lopsided, primarily because the government’s resolutions came in late, as the outcome of projects scheduled for commissioning in 2020 and 2021 has been largely decided.
“These projects will be impacted by the fault-lines that started emerging in 2017 around grid, land, aggressive pricing, financing and sales agreements,” GWEC added.
GWEC had earlier <a href="https://mercomindia.com/india-achieve-wind-target-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">forecasted</a> that the total cumulative installations are expected to reach 50 GW in 2020-21.

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