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Solar Companies Are Scrambling to Find a Critical Raw Material (bloomberg.com)
Solar manufacturers are being battered by higher costs and smaller margins, after an unexpected shortage of a critical raw material. From a report, shared by an anonymous reader: Prices of polysilicon, the main component of photovoltaic cells, spiked as much as 35 percent in the past four months after environmental regulators in China shut down several factories. That's driving up production costs as panel prices continue to decline, and dragging down earnings for manufacturers in China, the world's biggest supplier. "There's just not enough polysilicon in China," said Carter Driscoll, an analyst who covers solar companies for FBR & Co. "If prices don't come down, it will crush margins."
Solar PV panels just don't work financially, they require subsidies and falsified conditions.
The real world is catching up and the cost is adjusting.
Aside from that they are not greatly eco friendly china makes them by burning coal. Greenies get sucked in to believing they are "doing the right thing" but it is rare to make a carbon neutral result, however the pollution is way over in china so who cares (unless you actually care for the planet.)
Is that it is LESS expensive, more "Earth friendly" and on and on when that is a big fat lie. It's a huge drain of environmental resources, caustic & hazardous wastes products and without government subsidies it would be WAY too expensive to use. Get use to it. Coal, gas, nuclear is must more powerful, plentiful & cost effective than wind, water, or sun, or corn to be used as fuel.
You must be stupid or living under a rock for the past couple of decades.
Poly-silicon was very profitable before China tanked it in the mid 2000's.
https://www.wired.com/story/inside-story-of-the-great-silicon-heist/
BS propagated by the industry.
Without the favorable tax treatment (i.e. government subsidies), Photovoltaic solar is a money looser compared to fossil fuels. In fact, it's barely viable in areas with lots of sunshine and high electric rates. Fossil fuels are cheaper than solar even then, It's not even close. Heck, Nuclear is cheaper.