Japan Solar Power Sector Analysis

Japan has been involved in solar power development since the early 1990s when the country installed its first solar power plant. It has already become one of the top countries for total solar Photo Voltaic (PV) panels installed and its companies are leading manufacturers of PV solar panels. Comparing to the installed generation capacity of Solar PV panels all over the world, Japan stands at the third position after Italy and Germany. Until now, Europe has had a stronghold on the world solar market but Japan, China, USA and Australia are the major economies that are following Europe in the solar footsteps.

Japan has enormous solar reserves to generate power which can take off the load from fossil fuels and reduce the imports. After the Fukushima nuclear incident there is no nuclear power generation in the country and hence solar energy becomes a frontrunner in sufficing the power demand of the country. With the population still coping with the aftereffects of the disaster and development again taking a faster pace, the country will soon experience a greater need for power for which it will have to diversify its energy sources.

In 2011, the Japan contributed 7% to the world’s total installed solar PV capacity. Japan has grown stronger in terms of installed PV especially after the Fukushima incident which has been supported by a change in the policies as well. Japan started concentrating on solar power generation since the early 1990s; in 2011, it added more than 1 GW in installed capacity for the first time in any given year.

1. Solar Power Sector Overview

1.1 Installed Generation Capacity

1.2 Solar Radiation & Potential

2. Solar Power as Preferred Source for Clean Energy

3. Feed In Tariff Structure

4. Photovoltaic Module Manufacturing

4.1 Production by Type: Single Crystal, Multi-Crystal & Thin Film

4.2 PV Module Consumption in Domestic Markets

4.3 Exports

5. Upcoming Solar Power Projects

5.1 West Holdings to Develop US$ 1.3 Billion of Solar Plant

5.2 200 MW PV Station in Tomakomai by Softbank

5.3 Toshiba to Build Solar Photovoltaic Fields in Minami Soma

5.4 Kagoshima Mega Solar Power Corporation to Operate 70 MW Plant in South Japan

5.5 Mori Trust to Build Solar Plant in Fukushima Prefecture

5.6 JGC Solar Power Plant in Oita Prefecture

5.7 Tahara Solar Wind Project

5.8 bSolar to Build 730 kW Ground Mounted Solar Project

5.9 Inpex Mega Solar Plant in Joetsu

5.10 Renogy plans a 1.2 MW Solar Plant in Saga

6. Factors Driving the Solar Power Sector

6.1 Small PV System Not Regulated Under Factory Location Act

6.2 Negative Public Opinion Regarding Nuclear Power

6.3 Focus on Renewable Energy to Meet Electricity Demand

6.4 Dominance of Domestic Solar Panel Manufacturers

6.5 Investment in Solar Plant & Panel Manufacturing Units

6.6 Declining Module Prices for Residential Segment

7. Future of Solar Power Generation

8. Policy & Regulatory Landscape

8.1 Subsidy for Residential PV Systems

8.2 Promotion of the Use of Non fossil Energy Sources and Effective Use of Fossil Energy Source Materials by Energy Suppliers

8.3 Project for Promoting the Local Introduction of New Energy

8.4 Project for Supporting New Energy Operators

8.5 New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization

8.6 Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

9. PEST Analysis

9.1 Government Focus Towards Solar Power Development

9.2 Feed In Tariff Lead To Economic Advantage

9.3 Solar Power Preferred over Nuclear Energy by Society

9.4 Japanese Companies Dominance in PV Manufacturing Technology

10. Competitive Landscape

10.1 Kyocera

10.2 Panasonic - Sanyo

10.3 Mitsubishi Electric

10.4 Suntech Power Japan

10.5 Solar Frontier

10.6 Sharp

Figure 1-1: Cumulative Installed Solar Generation Capacity in Japan, Europe, US & China (MW), 2011

Figure 1-2: New Solar Installations by Country (MW), 2011

Figure 1-3: Global Solar PV Installed Capacity by Country, 2011

Figure 1-4: Cumulative Installed Solar Power Generation Capacity (MW), 2006–2011

Figure 1-5: Off Grid PV Capacity (MW), 2006-2011

Figure 1-6: Off Grid Domestic PV Capacity (MW), 2006-2011

Figure 1-7: Off Grid Non Domestic PV Capacity (MW), 2006-2011

Figure 1-8: Grid Connected PV Capacity (MW), 2006-2011

Figure 1-9: Grid Connected Distributed PV Capacity (MW), 2006-2011

Figure 1-10: Grid Connected Centralized PV Capacity (MW), 2006-2011

Figure 1-11: Solar Yields by City

Figure 3-1: Solar Power Feed In Tariff, JPY/ kWh

Figure 3-2: Wind Power Tariff Structure by Capacity (JPY/kWh)

Figure 3-3: Hydro Energy Feed In Tariff, JPY/ kWh

Figure 3-4: Geothermal Energy Feed In Tariff, JPY/ kWh

Figure 4-1: Single Crystalline Solar Cell Production (kW), FY’09-FY’11

Figure 4-2: Multi Crystalline Solar Cell Production (kW), FY’09-FY’11

Figure 4-3: Thin Film Production (kW), FY’09-FY’11

Figure 4-4: Total PV Module Production (kW), FY’09-FY’11

Figure 4-5: Use of PV Module in Power Generation (kW), FY’11

Figure 4-6: PV Module Exports (kW), FY’09-FY’11

Figure 4-7: PV Module Export by Country (kW), FY’11

Figure 6-1: Opinion Poll Results for Nuclear Power Generation in Japan

Figure 6-2: Total Investment in the Solar Market (JPY Billion), 2011 & 2012

Figure 6-3: Investments in Solar PV Systems Development (JPY Billion), FY’12

Figure 6-4: Renewable Energy Investments (JPY Billion), FY’12

Figure 6-5: Investments for Restoration of Fukushima Prefecture (JPY Billion), FY’12

Figure 6-6: Price of Public & Industrial PV System (>10 kW), JPY/W

Figure 6-7: Price of Residential PV System (3-5 kW), JPY/W

Figure 6-8: Price of Inverter for Grid Connected PV Application

Figure 7-1: Targeted Solar Installed Capacity (GW), 2015, 2020 & 2030