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Davenport Laroche
metals feature may 2015
Silver Shines as Demand for Solar
Industry Surges
Silver has a rich history, as the metal has been
mined for thousands of years. The metal’s
revolution is said to date back to 1492 with the
discovery of the New World, which introduced
silver mining on a far larger scale. Despite its
well-documented past, throughout the 20th
century, silver has always been eclipsed by
gold and largely considered as the ‘poor man’s
precious metal.’ However, it is becoming far
more prominent across a range of industries,
with demand from the photovoltaic market in
particular boosting appetite for the metal.
Today, around 877 million ounces of silver are
mined each year around the world. As the solar
energy industry continues to prosper, this could
serve as a major catalyst for silver demand
over the next decade, with forecasts from IHS
expecting solar power to increase by 30% to 57
gigawatts of electricity in 2015. In China alone, it
is anticipated that by the end of the year, around
17 gigawatts of solar capacity will be installed.
As silver is a key component in crystalline silicon
photovoltaic (PV) cells, this creates enormous
potential demand for the metal.
Many solar cells rely on silver paste in their
manufacturing process. This industry alone is
predicted to account for a staggering 70 million
ounces of supply for the metal throughout this
year and into the next. Although the price of the
metal declined in the past few years, demand for
PV cells increased by around 7% last year and
is set to rise further throughout the next decade.
Long-term, silver’s prospects have the potential
to improve, especially if a climate change
agreement is reached between major nations
in Paris at the end of this year. If a deal is
agreed, this could result in robust demand for
PV cells as leading developing economies, such
as China and India, continue to increase the
contribution that solar energy makes to their
overall energy supply network.
A report from Thomson Reuters revealed that
silver production increased by just 5% to 877.5
million ounces last year. The report stated; “This
growth is attributable to stronger output from the
primary silver and copper sectors, new projects
that came online last year and significant
production gains in Central and South America.”
The same report also discovered that primary
silver mine production rose by 8%, accounting
for 31% of global silver mine supply, while it
ranked Mexico as the world’s leading producer
of the metal. The nation was followed by Peru,
China, Australia and Chile. According to the
Thomson Reuters report, total physical demand
reached 1.07 billion ounces last year, marking
the fourth highest level recorded since 1990.
Despite this and the growing demands of the
solar power industry, it is feared that production
could level out over the next few years.
Although gold has often been the favoured
asset above silver, the metal’s diversity, its
range of industrial applications and its growing
prominence in the solar sector positions it
as a commodity that is poised to increase in
importance, particularly as nations continue
to increase their efforts to rely on renewable
energy sources.
To find out more about silver and its growing
presence in the solar energy sector, visit:
http://bit.ly/1AQThbS
Address: 1501, Millennium City 5, 418 Kwun Tong Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon. Phone Number: 2892-7665. Fax Number: 37538919. Email: [email protected]