Renewable/GOES MMI: Renewable Prices Nose-Dive, GOES Remains Strong

The Renewables MMI (Monthly Metals Index) dropped significantly from June to July. All in all, the index fell a staggering 22.05%. How will this impact steel prices today?

Problems With China’s Solar Panel Manufacturing Dominance

Some experts say that initiatives aimed at creating a zero-carbon future are being impacted by dependence on Chinese solar panels. Recently, the International Energy Agency announced a less-than-favorable outlook regarding China’s dominance on solar panel manufacturing. According to the IEA, the US’ high demand for solar panels has increased its dependency on China. In fact, the United States’ PV (photovoltaic) solar demand exceeds China’s by more than twice.


Cost-efficiency plays a considerable role in outsourced solar panel production. However, this could have unseen consequences. The fast-growing demand for solar panels in the US poses an issue in and of itself.


While people’s hearts are in the right place (lowering carbon emissions), an area of production growing and expanding so quickly typically doesn’t leave time for proper regulation. Also, the profitability of global solar energy initiatives is volatile. As the IEA says, solar power has a need and demand, but it must first have all moving parts in place.


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Ireland Revs Up Renewable Wind Energy

Recently, Ireland began utilizing green hydrogen to bump up its renewable energy storage with wind power. CleanTechnic, a US-based clean energy news source, noted that Ireland was behind its fellow European nations in terms of hydrogen energy. Hydrogen, according to some, remains an untapped and heavily un-researched renewable energy source. In fact, the base element has already proved invaluable in other commodities markets such as agriculture and natural gas.
Ireland’s new  “green hydrogen” project relies heavily on offshore wind energy. Currently, Ireland has 45 offshore wind farms in the works. Despite this, there are only two currently running. Unfortunately, numerous roadblocks have caused significant delays in new wind initiatives. Examples include planning delays, building permission problems, and the surrounding shoreline being too deep for fixed wind structures.


With the new green hydrogen initiative, Ireland could remedy these problems with hydrogen-fueled storage and floating wind structures. That said, this brand-new renewable energy solution remains largely untested, and, therefore, questionable in reliability. Could floating offshore wind turbines prove a reliable source of energy and a remedy to deep offshore restrictions? As WIRED recently noted, the initiative appears so promising that billions of dollars are currently being invested into it globally.

The GOES/Grain Oriented Electrical Steel MMI (Monthly Metals Index)

The GOES index continued its climb from June to July. Altogether, the index rose by 2.4%

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GOES Opportunity for American Appliances: Steel Prices Today

How do GOES prices keep such a bullish pace? There are numerous factors at work, especially on the demand side. In addition, government regulations limiting CO2 emissions has also helped to drive demand for high-power transformers, motors, power transmission and other purposes according to a recent report.  Add all of these sectors up, and it’s no surprise why GOES products are some of the most sought-after in the marketplace.


On top of this, electrical steel, in general saves consumers a fortune in electric costs. This is mainly due to its ability to maintain heat by as much as 30%. And with the cost of everything steadily rising in the US, consumers are more contentious about saving money than ever.


 Renewables and GOES Trends, Facts, and Figures:

  • Chinese neodymium prices only fell slightly by 0.9%, leaving prices at $176,177.25 per metric ton
  • Chinese steel plate took a heavier hit. Prices dropped 8%. Meanwhile, the current price per metric ton sits at $739.01
  • U.S. steel plate also dropped in price but not as dramatically. Prices fell 3.07%. Current price sits at $1,833 per short ton.

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