Japan readies for a solar energy boom
‘‘Japan is where the demand is,’’ Kazuhiro Yoshida told reporter
Solar Boom Heads To Japan Creating $9.6 Billion Market Bloomberg, By Chisaki Watanabe – Jun 17, 2012 Japan is poised to overtake Germany and Italy to become the world’s second-biggest market for solar power as incentives starting July 1 drive sales for equipment makers from Yingli Green Energy Holdings Co. to Kyocera Corp. (6971)
Industry Minister Yukio Edano today may set a premium price for solar
electricity that’s about triple what industrial users now pay for
conventional power, a ministry official said. That may spur at least
$9.6 billion in new installations with 3.2 gigawatts of capacity,
Bloomberg New Energy Finance forecast. The total is about equal to the
output of three atomic reactors.
“The tariff is very attractive,” said Mina Sekiguchi, associate
partner and head of energy and infrastructure at KPMG in Japan. “The
rate reflects the government’s intention to set up many solar power
stations very quickly.”…
raising concern among Japanese business groups that clean power aid
will raise bills and slow Japan’s economic recovery.
“This is a mechanism with a high degree of market intervention by
setting tariffs artificially high and making users shoulder the cost,”
said Masami Hasegawa, senior manager of the environmental policy
bureau of Keidanren, Japan’s most powerful business lobby. “We
question the effectiveness of such a scheme.”
Twice German Rate
Utilities should pay 42 yen (53 cents) a kilowatt-hour for 20 years to
solar power producers, almost twice the rate in Germany, the world’s
biggest market by installations, under a proposal by a panel set up by
the Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry…..
“Being closer to the customers is extremely important for Yingli,”
Masaki Mizuta, managing director of Yingli Japan, said on May 4. “We
also believe that this is a key success factor in Japan.”
Kyocera Corp. is “aggressively” expanding its solar division, said
Sanae Iwasaki, a spokeswoman for the company that’s based in Kyoto,
Japan. It doesn’t disclose targets. It’s considering a 70-megawatt
station with IHI Corp. (7013) and Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. in
Kagoshima on the southern island of Kyushu, which would be the largest
in Japan when completed.
“More players will enter the market for investment purposes,” Iwasaki
said. “‘There will be more importance on the quality. We will pursue
cost-cutting by producing panels with higher conversion efficiency.’’
Panasonic Corp. (6752), which also owns Sanyo Electric Co., plans to
boost supply for its home market by shipping solar products from its
new plant in Malaysia , said Kazuhiro Yoshida, who heads the company’s
solar panel operation.
‘‘Japan is where the demand is,’’ Yoshida told reporters May 23. The plant will begin production in December, boosting the company’scapacity to 900 megawatts from 600 megawatts, according to the company’s statement.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-17/solar-boom-heads-to-japan-creating-9-6-billion-market-energy.html
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