PV trends in Japan - progress of the PV market by new support measures

Abstract

The PV market in Japan moved into the run-up period toward GW country in terms of annual introduction capacity with the new support measures started in 2009. In January 2009, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, METI restarted a subsidy program for residential PV systems, which was terminated in 2005. With this program, Japan's residential PV market was revitalized, and the number of applications for the subsidy in FY 2009 reached 144,601. The subsidy program for residential PV systems worked as a driving force of the PV market in Japan. Annual installed PV capacity in 2009 reached 483 MW, more than double the figure of 2008 (225 MW). In addition to this, the government started a new power purchase program, the feed-in tariff program for surplus PV power, on November 1, 2009. Basic purchase price is set at 48 JPY/kWh for residential PV systems, twice as much as the current sales price of electricity. With these new measures and other efforts by central and local governments, utilities, PV industry and related industry such as the housing industry, it is expected that the Japanese PV market will start rapidly growing once again, stepping forward to establish a domestic market size of 1 GW at an early date.