"Having a single go-to-market strategy tomeet growing PV demand across the entire APAC region is no longer viable,"stated Chris Sunsong, analyst at NPD Solarbuzz. 

  "Leading APAC countries are now evolvinginto micro-climates that create customized supply channels. Suppliers are beingforced to pick and choose the countries and application segments that overlapwith their product portfolios and corporate strategies. Quarterly cycles alsocontinue to define PV demand, reflecting the effects of policy deadlines andweather-related seasonality." 

  In Australia,the elimination of the Solar Credit Multiplier, along with incentive reductionsin Victoria and Queensland, will slow PV growth during 2013.In Japan,demand will peak during Q1'13, ahead of scheduled tariff reductions in April.

  The Chinese government will likely re-adjustthe goals of its 12th Five-Year Solar Development Plan, and the country willsee over 75% of its 7 GW demand in 2013 occur in 2H'13. However, it is crucialthat any changes to the feed-in-tariff rates drive PV developers to completetheir projects earlier in the year, thus avoiding the dramatic year-end demandswings experienced in the past.

  In India, the final version of PhaseII of the National Solar Mission program is still pending. The country couldsee a capacity increase from 3.7 to 9 GW, with an increased focus on theoff-grid and rooftop sectors. 

  The threat of further trade wars involvingAPAC countries, along with other import restrictions, is segmenting the APACregion into country and application-specific markets. Domestic contentrestrictions on imported modules into Indiamay strongly affect c-Si supply from Chinaor any thin-film imports to India. 

  The APAC region is becoming more selectiveabout technologies. 

  In Japan, high-efficiency modules havebecome the preferred technology for locations with constrained space. In China,domestically manufactured multi c-Si modules are satisfying ground-mountedrequirements. And in India,1 GW of new demand will come from rooftop projects under Phase II of theNational Solar Mission, which could further shrink this key market forthin-film suppliers. 

  "There are various factors drivingoverall PV demand across the APAC region, but each country is still subject toa number of risk factors," added Sunsong. "For example, the Chineseand Indian markets are constrained by bank financing and grid accessibility,and Australiaremains vulnerable to future policy shocks."