Japan’s top solar industry group has signaled a major push for vertical bifacial PV adoption with the release of a new voluntary reference guide.
The JPEA’s vertical bifacial solar guide offers practical guidance for investors, engineers, and project developers on a format still largely unfamiliar in Japan. The move underscores JPEA’s strategic push for vertical bifacial PV, offering advantages across the snow-prone, high-latitude, and space-constrained Japanese archipelago.
The Japanese-language reference guide outlines generation characteristics, design considerations, operational best practices, and regulatory compliance, positioning vertical bifacial systems as a viable new segment for the Japanese solar market.
The JPEA outlines case studies from universities and private companies featuring illustrated layouts, module orientations, and expected output. The guide also addresses safety measures and land-sharing approaches for agricultural or industrial installations. The organization noted that the document is a voluntary reference guide, not a regulatory standard, and said it plans to expand it with additional data and examples as adoption grows.
Several pioneering vertical bifacial PV projects have already demonstrated the technology's real-world viability in Japan. Particularly in vertical agrivoltaics, these installations preserve farmland productivity while generating clean energy, aligning closely with national goals.
In December 2025, AirWater and Suichoku Solar K.K. commissioned a 178 kW vertical PV system at a JP Two‑Way Contact Co. parking lot in Japan’s Tottori prefecture, supplying about 25 % of the facility’s electricity under an on-site power purchase agreement (PPA). The installation reportedly uses limited space efficiently and resists snow damage.
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