Japan's solar market grows up

Back in 1989 when I wrote Elegant Technology, I was quite certain that Japan would become a leader in green technologies—mostly because they COULD become a leader.  It has taken awhile, but it looks like this prediction will come true.  Go Japan!

Japan Is Now The Biggest Solar Market In The World

Rob Wile | Jun. 5, 2013

Japan’s solar installations surged by a stunning 270 percent (in gigawatts (GW)) in the first quarter of 2013, positioning the country to surpass Germany to become the world’s largest photovoltaics (PV) market in terms of revenue this year.

Although Japan is forecast to install fewer GW than China (which is forecast to be the largest market in GW installation terms) in 2013, the high prices of PV systems in Japan will drive it to become the world’s largest market in revenue terms.

This is all basically the result of Fukushima, after which Japanese authorities aggressively moved to promote solar. They adopted a feed-in tariff that rewarded utilities for transitioning power supplies toward solar.

Meanwhile, Europe is ramping down solar growth as it clears its market of low-cost Chinese products.

Japan's share the photovoltaic market will rise to 24 percent in 2013, up from 14 percent in 2012 and just 9 percent in 2011.  more