Boom-and-bust might soon become steady-as-she-goes for the solar PV industry.
That's what Solarbuzz analyst Michael Barker says in his analysis of data released in the latest Solarbuzz Quarterly report.
The report looks at the global balance of supply and demand for the PV market and includes info on company shipment data, inventory levels, how policy is impacting PV demand, and more.
Writing on DisplaySearch blog, Mr Barker notes that in recent years the solar PV industry has been subject to strong cyclic changes. The reason? He points to government incentive policies.
Feed-in tariffs and rebates directly affect production cycles, as customers and developers rush to qualify for incentives before they elapse or are reduced. The result is a boom-and-bust cycle of demand.
This of course can hurt developers as they find themselves with excess stock when demand dies down in quiet periods.
Last year however, Mr Barker says that demand was more evenly spread across the four quarters. And according to Solarbuzz data, this shift to more stable demand cycles is a global phenomenon.
What are the consequences for the solar industry?
Mr Barker says it will mean manufacturers can balance out their production over all four quarters, giving them more stability in this growing market.
He calls this a "step in the right direction" for solar PV.
Posted by Mike Peacock