According to data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), the Japanese photovoltaic (PV) market has experienced a continuous decline for two years. In 2017, Japan’s newly installed PV capacity was 7.5 GW, marking a 6.3% decrease compared to 2016’s 8.0 GW. This downward trend has persisted since 2015, when the newly installed capacity reached 11.2 GW.
The main factor contributing to this decline is the reduction in subsidies. With the retreat of subsidies, the enthusiasm for rooftop PV among Japanese residents has waned. Looking ahead, the future of the Japanese PV market will be mainly driven by large – scale PV projects.
However, there is a hitch in the development of large – scale projects. PV projects need to obtain subsidies from grid companies within 9 months of grid connection. Currently, many PV projects are facing issues in getting timely approval, which leads to the loss of subsidies. This situation poses challenges to the growth of the large – scale PV sector in Japan, and it remains to be seen how the industry will adapt to these changes to regain its growth momentum.
