Two weeks ago we reported that the price of solar crucibles, used in the Czochralski process to produce solar polysilicon ingots, had risen from $1,700 per unit in November, to $2,200 in February, to $2,800 in early March. Back in 2021, the price was just $600. Prices are not reported as frequently and consistently as for other components, but the shortage is only getting worse and April prices will surely be higher. Two weeks ago quartz sand, of which up to 100 kilograms are used per crucible, rose 50% in a week to $11,000 per ton, then to $12,000 a week later. The highest price reported as 9th March, for imported sand of the highest purity, (only the inner face…