According to EnergyTrend, the green energy research division of TrendForce, Europe and China may further reduce the subsidies. With companies trying to take advantage of subsidies while they can, the prospects for the global solar market are looking up for 1Q12, and the spot prices are also on an upswing. However, the upward price trend may cause uncertainty to the market outlook in 2Q12, as a certain amount of orders have been advanced to 1Q12. The subsidy reduction in 2Q12 will render the companies conservative.

At present, European countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Greece, and Switzerland have announced their new subsidy policies. For example, Germany may reduce the subsidy by 12%-24% in 2Q12, which will result in the same strong demand for 1Q12 as that for 11’Dec; the same goes for Greece and Switzerland. Although China is said to reduce its subsidy as well, due to the fact that the domestic demand in China is mainly supplied by the Chinese manufacturers, China’s subsidy cut plays little part in the global market.