Comments on: Solar Energy System Approvals Surge Following Launch of Japan’s Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff

By: Sean

Sean — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 10:31:00 +0000

the rate is WAY too high. it should be halved, and given only to systems under 30KW. having huge installations uses land, centralises, (which means transmission lines); solar has far more support when it is owned by the populous.

By: MrEnergyCzar

MrEnergyCzar — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 03:15:00 +0000

That’s a beautiful solar skyline….

By: Matthew Todd Peffly

Matthew Todd Peffly — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 14:00:00 +0000

So what did Japan’s last meltdown cost, will we every really know? Do we add the cost of the invasion of ocean life on the west cost. What to cost of the those who can never move home, or can’t sleep at night?
All cost are relative. Yes the Japan FITwas higher than I expected, yes it will come down in the future. But it is working to get a boat load of green energy built in a very short time.

By: Anne

Anne — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 08:35:00 +0000

Bob,

“start high to kickstart the process and scale back as fast as possible without disrupting the system”

It isn’t that simple as you think. Large projects have long planning times. They must be certain of a FiT to get the financing complete. You can not suddenly change the rules halfway into the game. There is a limit to the speed at which you can reduce the FiT.

Otoh, if necessary things can move very quickly, as evidenced by the year-end rushed in Germany.

I think a $0.25-$0.30 would have been a way better starting point. But we’ll see how things work out.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 02:03:00 +0000

I’m glad republicans are still completely ignoring science AND profit. And I’m sure it’s Obama’s fault for not leading the world in renewables.

By: Ronald Brak

Ronald Brak — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 23:35:00 +0000

I was surprised with how high the Japanese tariff was and the number of years it will apply for. But it’s far from a disaster, especially for a country like Japan. In the past Japan has thrown a huge effort into certain industrial or technological areas and they’ve had a lot of success from it. They’ve also had some big failures, (eg. nuclear power) but even failures which didn’t end up making or saving Japan money have often been of benefit to the rest of the world through the development of new technology and reductions in prices.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 21:51:00 +0000

Yes, but as suggested, start high to kickstart the process and scale back as fast as possible without disrupting the system.

Let installers make some extra money at first in order to recoup their equipment investments and figure out the process. Obviously there will likely be some who enter the business who will wash out, but that always happens.

Boom happens when the subsidies are kept too high too long.

By: Anne

Anne — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 20:18:00 +0000

Too high an FiT will just cause a boom-bust scenario. The costs will spiral out of control and panic ensues. The naysayers will get plenty of ammo, accusing solar power of not being cost effective.

Furthermore, the lavish profits to be made just attract ‘solar cowboys’ wanting to make a quick buck instead of building a solid industry.

By: Rahul

Rahul — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 17:25:00 +0000

The same sort of an uptick in solar installations are happening all asia pacific region. And now even US based manufacturer first solar have sold over 100 MW of solar pv modules just in india. What to say. Sun is really getting hot now. Source: http://www.renewindians.com/2012/10/first-solar-tightning-screws-on-indian.html

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 16:18:00 +0000

I agree, if they limit the life of the high FiT. Get the installation industry started very rapidly and then scale back support as installation companies and supply chains appear.

Japan needs fixes fast, otherwise they’re going to feel a lot of pressure to turn the reactors back on. Shoveling some money into the solar industry right now could make a big difference next summer.

By: Jeff King

Jeff King — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 15:13:00 +0000

Isnt that a good thing? they are trying to replace the capacity of their entire Nuclear fleet plus use less fossil fuels that they have to import so I could see this rate staying for a year or two so they have a great start and than lowering it little by little so they have a system like Germany’s

By: Anne

Anne — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:09:00 +0000

“rate of 42 yen ($0.525) per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in July has prompted a surge in solar PV systems permit applications at METI”

With an estimated cost price of $ 0.10-$ 0.15 per kWh, who wouldn’t rush to take advantage of this goldmine?

This FiT is far too high. We have seen the results in other countries (eg. Spain, UK) of FiT’s that are not compatible with the PV prices of 2012. If the Japanese government doesn’t lower the FiT or set a market cap, they’ll be handling applications in the GW’s very soon.