Japan, the new "el Dorado" of solar PV?

Abstract

Japan intends to increase the share of photovoltaic (PV) energy in its mix of electricity production from 4.5% today to 12% by 2030. However, as a result of Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) reductions and limited grid access for new projects, Japan's PV demand shrank by 23% year-over-year in 2016 and another 10% in 2017. Even so, in terms of the cost and pace of deployment, solar PV has grown much more quickly than expected in Japan, similar to what has occurred in other markets in the past (for example, the Spanish market between 2000 and 2008). Due to this fast growth, the generation cost of solar PV appears high in Japan compared with international benchmarks, something that can damage future market development.