China not immune to solar market shocks

摘要

With the solar bubble apparently bursting around the industry's ears in late 2011, as 2012 opens its doors for business much attention has been focused on the sector. The markets are certainly wise to be cautious given the impact of the downturn, regulatory instability and an increasingly price-competitive and oversupplied market. Indeed, it is clear that no-one in the solar sector has escaped unscathed. For while there are those who would like to lay the blame for the current squeeze on China's doorstep, even some Chinese majors have suffered a noticeable dip. Take Trina Solar, which announced its Q3 figures late last year. It reported that solar module shipments were approximately 370 MW for the third quarter of 2011, representing a decrease of 6.6% sequentially with 396.4 MW in the second quarter of 2011, though an increase of 27.4% year-on-year compared with 2010 Q3 of 290.5 MW.