Japan’s solar energy capacity continues to show impressive growth

Report highlights the country’s growing solar power capacity

Japan is becoming one of the world’s leading solar energy markets. The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry has released a report concerning the country’s growing solar power capacity. Over the past year, Japan’s solar capacity has increased significantly, partly due to the falling cost of photovoltaic technologies and the increased domestic production of these technologies. The government has also been funding the development of the solar energy sector throughout the country quite aggressively.

More than 7 GW of solar capacity was installed in Japan over the past fiscal year

The figures highlighted in the report are based on data provided by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy. The report shows that more than 7 gigawatts of solar capacity was installed throughout Japan during the past fiscal year. This represents a 10-fold increase over the country’s capacity as recorded in early 2013. Much of Japan’s solar growth is being attributed to the development of commercial solar energy systems and the growing popularity of rooftop photovoltaic systems.

Residential solar power continues to gain momentum thanks to government incentives

The residential sector had been the most prominent market for solar power in Japan before the development of commercial-scale energy projects won more support from the Japanese government. Residential photovoltaic systems are still growing in popularity among homeowners that are interested in renewable energy and saving money by reducing their consumption of fossil-fuels through utilities. Japan’s solar feed-in tariff has gone a long way to promote the adoption of solar power among the country’s homeowners.

Japan expected to become a leading solar power market as more solar projects begin to take form throughout the country

Solar energy is expected to continue seeing significant growth throughout Japan for the foreseeable future. There are currently several solar projects under development in the country, such as the Oita Solar Project. This particular project has already established a longstanding power purchase agreement with Kyushu Electric Power Company. This project has a capacity of 82 megawatts and is one of several similar projects that are beginning to work alongside Japanese utilities.