It’s reported that the cumulative amount of PV system installations in Japan has exceeded 10GW by August, 2013. In another word, Japan, China and USA have all exceeded the threshold following Germany and Italy.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan has already come up with subsidy plans for residential PV systems since 1994. Initially, the subsidy covered 50% of the cost of PV systems. In July, 2012, the Japanese government has promoted FiT to accelerate the development of the renewable energy. The PV market in Japan has rapidly increased over the last twelve months, with total amount of PV system installations exceeding 10GW.
By the end of August, 2013, roof-top PV system installation that owns a market share of 89% remained the major type of PV systems. Market share of the rest of 11% was for the use of ground-mounted and off-grid systems. The PV market in Japan is going through a transformation due to the increased commercial and utility-scale project demand in the previous quarters.
Recently, project developers are confronting with the component supply shortage issue. They have also been struggling with issues regarding acquisition of suitable land and delay on grid-connection. Besides, certain Japanese module manufacturers have been fully-reserved in 2013 and the beginning of 2014, which intensify the local supply. Module price may also increase in the short run.
However, if the PV system installation reaches a certain amount, the Japanese government may set the limit on every year’s installation amount or reduce subsidy (or combine both plans) to interrupt the installation process. The corrective actions may be carried out in Japan before the new fiscal year starts in April, 2014. Despite these challenges, Japan is still the global PV leader this year.