Falling demand in the China market drove global solar demand down to 6.2GW in the first quarter of 2013, said Solarbuzz. The figure represents an on-quarter decrease of 23%. Although the China market will account for 20% of global solar demand over the next fourt quarters, ranging between 0.9-3.6GW, the volatility of the market such as seasonality and policy incentive deadlines are likely to bring new challenges to solar firms, said Solarbuzz.
Michael Barker, senior analyst at Solarbuzz, noted that solar demand in China will experience extreme swings which are likely to create challenges for firms to control capacity utilization rate and inventories.
Barker explained that volatility in the China market will affect global suppliers and demand swings are likely to affect the growth of the global solar market over the next four quarters.
Solarbuzz disclosed that four countries, Germany, Italy, France and the UK, will lead solar demand in Europe, and account for over 65% of demand in the regional market over the next four quarters. As Europe's solar demand will not be dominated by policy deadlines, Solarbuzz forecasts demand in the region will show flat on-quarter growth. As for the next four quarters, Solarbuzz predicts end market demand in Europe to range from 2.7-3.2GW.
The market research institute stated that the Japan solar market will be strongest in the first half of 2013 while the US market will be strongest in second-half 2013. The rest-of-world (ROW) group, which includes Japan, the US, and other solar markets such as the Middle East and Southeast Asia, is likely to comprise demand of 2.5-3.6GW per quarter for the next four quarters, added Solarbuzz.
