12/02/2026
There’s been a lot of noise in the market about upcoming solar panel price increases.
The reason?
China is removing certain export rebates / tax incentives that historically helped keep panel pricing extremely competitive globally.
From a replacement-cost perspective, this makes sense.
If manufacturers lose rebates, production costs increase — and that flows through the supply chain.
But here’s an interesting angle…
The South African Rand has strengthened against the US Dollar recently.
Now, I’m no economist or CFA.
But it does raise a fair question:
If the export rebate falls away (pushing prices up), yet the Rand strengthens (reducing landed cost in ZAR terms) — shouldn’t those forces partially balance each other out?
In other words:
Are we seeing pure cost pass-through…
Or is there room for pricing stability?
This isn’t criticism — it’s just good commercial thinking.
As EPCs, developers, financiers, and clients, we need to understand:
• True replacement cost
• Currency impact
• Supply chain behaviour
• And where real value is created
The solar industry is maturing.
Transparent pricing conversations are part of that maturity.
What are you seeing in the market?
