Preliminary data from the world’s leading markets suggest that Q2 is likely to wind up with 31 GW of solar installed, just ahead of 30 GW in the first quarter. At first glance there’s nothing disappointing about keeping pace with such a strong Q1 showing. However, in both 2019 and 2020, Q2 installations worldwide were over 22% higher than Q1, part of a reliable pattern in which installations are skewed towards Q4, even in the markets which don’t have end-of-year subsidy deadlines. As such, while the boom in Q1 this year indicated annual global demand of over 200 GW, this second quarter result indicates the extent to which this demand is hampered by rising costs owed to the limited polysilicon…