Japan to evaluate grid availability for renewable power

Oct 1, 2014 - The government of Japan plans to create a working group that will assess the total renewable energy capacity that each power company can accept on its grid, the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Yuko Obuchi said Friday.

The group will check the limit of grid connection for large utilities such as Kyushu Electric Power Co Inc (TYO:9508) and smaller power distributors after several utilities recently announced they would restrict renewables connections to their grids.

Members of the new group will be selected under the New and Renewable Energy Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energy. The government has still not decided when exactly to set up the working group, the Minister said after a cabinet meeting.

Last week, Kyushu Electric, which is in charge of power supply on Kyushu island, said it will have to assess how much renewable energy it can add without disturbing its grid. This in turn will make it unable to respond to project applications for renewable energy systems for several months. Shikoku Electric Power (TYO:9507), Okinawa Electric Power (TYO:9511), Tohoku Electric Power (TYO:9506) and other utilities have also resorted to similar actions or are planning to.

The restrictions are expected to further slow down renewable energy project development in Japan. Since the start of the feed-in tariff (FiT) scheme in July 2012, the government has given the green light to 71.8 GW of renewable energy projects, of which 96% are solar. Yet, only 11.1 GW have been hooked to the grid by June 30 due to project delays cased by various issues.

(JPY 100 = USD 0.910/EUR 0.722)

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