Japan’s solar boom accelerating

• 7 years ago (2017-01-24)
• David Flin

Asia 851 Solar 246

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Japan’s Renewable Energy Institute has published new data showing that the solar power boom in Japan accelerated dramatically in 2016.

According to the data, originally collected by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, solar PV’s share of electricity production in Japan rose from 2.7 per cent in 2015 to 4.3 per cent in 2016. In the second half of 2016, solar PV accounted for more than 5 per cent of all electricity generation.

Mercom Capital Group, a market intelligence firm based in Austin, Texas, USA, said that Japan is forecast to have 8 GW of solar installations by the end of 2017. It said that the expansion of solar power in Japan is starting to pose challenges to the country’s fragmented electric power grid, which encompasses a system of relatively isolated grids controlled by local utility monopolies.