Catharina Klein
Research expert covering Japan
Solar energy in Japan - statistics & facts
Solar energy is the energy of radiation and heat from the sun, that can be converted to electricity or heat by using technologies such as photovoltaics or solar heating systems. Photovoltaic systems, which consist of one or multiple solar modules, each comprising several solar photovoltaic cells, transform light into electricity by using semiconducting materials. The electricity generation process of photovoltaic systems is entirely carbon neutral. Solar panels can either be installed on rooftops or mounted on the ground. The size of a whole plant may range from small-scale residential to utility-scale power stations, making it particularly attractive to small homeowners.
In recent years, Japan was one of the largest consumers of solar energy worldwide. Solar energy represents the most productive renewable energy source in Japan, as solar power stations had the highest number of renewable electric power plants on the archipelago.
One disadvantage of the mountainous island nation is the limited space for power stations on land. Therefore, Japan was one of the first countries to use floating solar panels. These new trends increased the attention in solar energy of both domestic and foreign investors and will likely lead to the expansion of the sector in the future.
These efforts are already showing their effects, as figures for greenhouse gas emission indicated a downwards trend in recent years. Nevertheless, there has been international criticism that Japan is unlikely to expand its renewable energy share enough to reach the latter goal.
Expansion of solar energy in Japan
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and be less dependent on fossil fuel imports, Japan is steadily expanding the share of renewable energies in electricity production. In recent years, solar power overtook hydropower as the largest renewable energy source. Since the conventional hydropower potential is almost fully developed, a further increase in capacity is hardly possible. Therefore, the Japanese government made investments in solar energy a priority. In 2015, the government cut the purchase price of electricity generated from solar energy. With the average sales price of solar photovoltaic modules decreasing as well, this resulted in a long-term decline in solar power costs, and a continuous increase in the purchase volume of solar electricity.One disadvantage of the mountainous island nation is the limited space for power stations on land. Therefore, Japan was one of the first countries to use floating solar panels. These new trends increased the attention in solar energy of both domestic and foreign investors and will likely lead to the expansion of the sector in the future.
Energy policy in Japan
Since fossil fuel combustion constitutes the main emitter of greenhouse gas emissions, the energy sector produces most carbon dioxide emissions in Japan. To meet its climate goals as a member of the Paris Agreement, the Japanese government emphasized the necessity to restructure the energy sector to reduce emissions. It currently seeks to replace fossil fuels with low-carbon energy sources such as renewables and nuclear energy. The current goal is to decrease emissions by 46 percent until 2030 compared to the level of 2013. Furthermore, the country declared its intention to become carbon-neutral by 2050.These efforts are already showing their effects, as figures for greenhouse gas emission indicated a downwards trend in recent years. Nevertheless, there has been international criticism that Japan is unlikely to expand its renewable energy share enough to reach the latter goal.
