Despite a continued increase of solar panels production at the Malaysia-based factory that will augment the megawatt production by 65% in 2011, Tom Werner, CEO of SunPower, revealed in a financial-related conference call that demand for the company’s products exceeded supply both in the second half of this year but also going into 2011.
Sales have remarkably increased by 41% in the third quarter than they have in the second quarter of 2010. The company’s PV project pipeline now stands at 5 GW.
Werner stated “Geographically, our top three markets were Italy, the U.S. and Germany, in terms of both megawatts and revenues. Utility and power plants revenue more than doubled in the third quarter to US$261 million compared to US$128 million in the second quarter of 2010. The strong performance was primarily driven by our successful execution in Italy and the build-out of projects in the U.S.”
In the residential and commercial segment, SunPower reported a steady growth in its revenues, from $264 million in the second quarter to $293 million in the third quarter.
The company is well-known for equipment effectiveness and improved average solar cell conversion efficiencies, providing solar panels that satisfy even the most eccentric ideas that a homeowner can possibly contrive of. The advantages and high quality are also mirrored by the extravagant price label.
Regardless the current price, the increased production to meet the continually rising demand has brought a much greater cost-effectiveness in assembly line production. Therefore, with a little guidance, the typically conservative SunPower could pinpoint the price of $1 a watt.
“On the cost side, we are on track to achieve our Q4 2011 plan of US$1.08 per watt efficiency adjusted panel cost relative to conventional crystalline silicon technology,” added Werner.
