Japan's Hokkaido island may face solar project glut - report

Dec 10, 2012 - Despite huge interest from solar project developers, Japan's island of Hokkaido could see the addition of only 400 MW-600 MW of power as the capacity of its grid is relatively low, the Japan Times cited on Friday Japan's trade minister Yukio Edano.

Since the introduction of feed-in tariffs for renewable power in July 2012, the number of solar installations in Japan has been on the rise. Through October, 1,800 MW of solar systems with capacities of over 1 MW have been approved by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Some 341 MW of the total is planned for Hokkaido, Japan Times writes, citing the ministry. The island's relatively cheap land areas are seen as one of the major reasons for that rush, the report says.

The ministry stresses on the fact that the island is a promising spot for the development of wind farms so there should be enough room for such projects as well.

On July 1, the Japanese government launched feed-in tariffs (FiTs) for renewable power to promote investment in renewable energy as part of its efforts to reduce the country's dependence on nuclear energy after the March 2011 Fukushima disaster. The FiT for solar power is JPY 42 (USD 0.51/EUR 0.40) per kWh, an attractive rate for the sector and even more so given that support in major markets in Europe is fading.

(JPY 100 = USD 1.217/EUR 0.942)

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