Japan

The drop in sales of solar energy products was mainly responsible for a 28% year-on-year turnover drop of the Life&Environment Group division, which includes the Japanese company’s activities within solar.

The world had more than half a terawatt of PV generation capacity at the end of last year as emerging solar markets picked up the slack caused by Beijing’s subsidy about-turn to the tune of a 20% rise in installations outside China.

The Tokyo-based renewables developer is constructing a 102.144 MW (DC) array on a former golf course west of Osaka in the city of Ako. It expects to connect the project to the grid in spring 2021.

The Dendo Drive House includes a solar system, residential storage and a bi-directional charger. Mitsubishi says it reduces electric bills and fuel costs by enabling battery charging from the grid at night, when power prices are cheaper, and can also draw power from an electric vehicle.

The Japanese gas provider has acquired a 50% interest in four Mexican PV projects with a combined capacity of 746 MW. The new joint venture will further develop solar and renewables across the country.

The Japanese CIS solar module maker has been acquired — along with its parent company, Showa Shell Sekiyu — through a share exchange by Japanese oil refiner Idemitsu. The transaction was announced in mid-October, while the preliminary agreement was signed in July.

It is official: METI has cut the feed-in tariff for Japan’s C&I solar segment by 22% to roughly $0.13/kWh.

Japan’s cumulative installed PV capacity could reach 150 GW by 2030, from roughly 55.5 GW by the end of 2018, according to a new report by Tokyo based research firm RTS Corp.

For the past few years, Japan’s solar industry insiders have been eyeing 2019 as a year of transition in the residential rooftop market, as the original 10 year feed-in tariffs come to an end. So, what will this post-FIT landscape look like, and how are Japan’s leading PV suppliers preparing for the future? Hanwha Q Cells’ Japan Marketing Manager Junichi Katayama breaks down the main points.

As Japan’s solar appetite shrinks amid questions over everything from falling FIT rates, through the availability of suitable land, to the revival of nuclear generation, Japan’s Zero Energy Homes policies – which require new buildings to integrate with PV and energy efficiency measures – could provide a significant boost to installations. pv magazine looks into Japan’s potential residential recovery.