Japan's wind and solar energy cuts have risen sharply over the past 12 months, from 0.57 TWh in FY2022 and 0.53 TWh in FY2023 to 1.76 TWh, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
The Japan Renewable Energy Research Institute (JRERI) said Japan's solar and wind energy cuts increased from about 0.10 TWh in FY2018 to about 1.76 TWh in the last fiscal year, a value more than double that of Australia and California, according to data provided by METI.
Specifically, renewable energy cuts reached 0.57 TWh in FY2022 and 0.53 TWh in FY2021, and followed two years of cuts of 0.40 TWh and 0.46 TWh, respectively.
The institute said that PV systems with a capacity of 10kW and below will not be affected by the cuts, noting that "the cuts are mainly for solar." The institute added that PV generation is concentrated in the daytime and spring when "solar irradiance conditions are favourable and electricity consumption is lowest."
The institute suggested economic dispatch and negative tariffs as solutions to reduce cuts in the coming years.
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Japan's cumulative installed PV capacity will reach 87GW by the end of 2023, and the country added about 4GW of solar power capacity last year.