Japan attains solar power milestone

Becomes one of only five countries with 10 GW solar capacity.

Research from NPD Solarbuzz shows that Japan became one of only five countries with 10 GW of cumulative solar photovoltaic capacity when it reached 10.5 GW at the end of August.

The increase in Japan’s solar capacity is due to moves by the Japanese government to increase Japan’s renewable energy output following a massive slowdown in power generated from nuclear power plants after the Fukushima disaster in 2011.

With the government’s focus now shifting towards renewables, a new law approving feed-in tariffs for renewable energy was passed in June 2012. This FIT of US$0.53 per kilowatt hour is higher than Germany’s.

Rooftop solar PV installations have been the dominant segment in the Japanese PV market, and should account for 89% of the total PV market in 2013. The remaining 11% will be accounted for by ground-mount and off-grid segments.

Germany was the first country to reach 10 GW mark followed by Italy, China and the U.S.