The solar industry hoped Japan would announce renewable energy policies in January or February; however, any announcements have been delayed to the end of April. Industry sources noted that Japan has been affected by fiscal budgets; hence subsidies for renewable energy development may be limited.

The solar industry has been hoping for the announcement of feed-in-tariffs (FIT) by the Japan government. The delay is likely to increase difficulties in obtaining funding for solar project firms.

Solar firms hope Japan's FITs will be at least JPY35/W (US$0.43/W) and will last for 15 years. The Japan Wind Power Association hopes FITs for ground-mounted windpower systems will be at least JPY20/W and last 20 years.

After the March 2011 earthquake, the government has hoped to install solar PV systems in areas such as Fukushima and Miyagi Prefecture. China-based solar firm Canadian Solar plans to construct a solar plant in Japan and will begin production in spring 2013.

Japan-based firms such as Hitachi, Toyota and Mitsui all have plans to construct large-size solar power plants. 

Source:digitimes