Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Ltd.YGE

Yingli's efficient vertical integration production footprint provides it with a cost structure superior to the vast majority of its solar panel competitors.

The company's Chinese location provides the company with cost advantages over its American and European counterparts

Yingli is set to begin producing silicon next year. Should it prove adept at producing silicon cost-effectively, this could equate to a major near-term cost advantage over its peers. Read more 

Solar panels are a commodity product, and unlike past years, supply is now in excess of demand. Yingli's results will be much more affected by the cyclical characteristics of end-market demand going forward.

Competitors Suntech Power and Trina Solar have cost structures and strategies very similar to Yingli. There is little reason to believe Yingli is more capable than either of these firms in becoming China's most successful solar company.

Thin-film leader First Solar has structurally lower costs than silicon-based solar manufacturers. Should other cost-effective thin-film companies emerge, Yingli may see its market share shrink to these alternative technologies.

The cost of solar PV remains very high and will require significantly lower prices in order to compete with mainstream electricity sources. It is far from guaranteed that Yingli can maintain its profitability in the face of the inevitable panel price declines of the next few years. Read more