SunPower Loses Market Share In California To Asian Companies
SunPower Corp., the largest supplier of solar power panels in California, is losing market share to China’s Suntech Power Holdings Co. and Japan’s Sharp Corp. as developers seek cheaper modules, says Pacific Crest Securities.
Sharp has won 28.5 megawatts of solar power projects this year under the California Solar Initiative, topping SunPower’s 26.2 megawatts. Last year, developers chose SunPower for 51.9 megawatts, almost double Sharp’s 27.5 megawatts, said Mark Bachman, an analyst at Portland, Oregon-based Pacific Crest. Suntech orders year-to-date more than tripled to 15.7 megawatts.
“We expect SunPower to continue to lose share as investors are not willing to pay the premium prices for its commodity product,” Bachman said today in a note to clients. Sharp, Suntech and Germany’s Solarworld AG “are best positioned for market share wins in the U.S.”
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