Japanese Domestic Solar Shipments Increase 10%
The Japanese Photovoltaic Energy Association released figures for the period October to December 2014, showing that the country’s domestic shipments of solar panels grew 10%, reaching 2,239 MW across the quarter.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance has translated the figures from the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association’s (JPEA) statement, released this week, which compiles data from 40 companies.
Of the 2,239 MW, 1,486 MW of the panels shipped were supplied by Japanese companies, including 689 MW produced outside Japan.
In the 9 months to December 31, the JPEA show that 6,507 MW of domestic panel shipments were made.
Japan not only ships a significant amount of solar, but they also install a sizable amount, ranking second globally in 2014 for new solar installations. IHS, unsurprisingly, believe that Japan will maintain that position in 2015, with 9 GW, following 2014’s 9.4 GW.
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The IHS number for China in 2014 is out by 2.5 GW.
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Sitting here in central Osaka, I haven’t seen very much of this vaunted solar growth personally, although I do see billboards in the train stations advertising solar arrays and “eco communities”. Once a week I commute between here and Kobe, and in the spread of mostly residences, small factories, and warehouses between the two cities I see a lot of empty rooftops, just begging for racks of panels to be placed upon them. There are a couple of small communities that have 50%+ coverage, but they’re a distinct minority.
However, for the last six months I’ve had a job that’s forced me to go once a week all the way past Kobe and into the more rural areas beyond (or at least what passes for rural here), out to the edge of the residential communities that feed Kobe proper… and the difference is astounding. Once outside of the city the buildings simply swarm with solar arrays. (There are a couple of larger farms too, but nothing really big on the route I travel.) The most interesting one to me is an entire small hill on what looks like a farmstead of some kind, covered from top to toe in a rag-tag heap of panels. It’s both hideous and beautiful at the same time. 🙂