Japan's non-hydro renewables capacity seen at 83.3 GW by 2025

Japan's installed renewable power capacity excluding hydropower will more than double by 2025, reaching 83.3 GW compared with 37.8 GW in 2015, research firm GlobalData forecast on Wednesday.

Expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 8.2%, the fastest in Japan's energy sector, renewables will help boost the country's overall power capacity to an estimated 389.8 GW by 2025 from 317.5 GW in 2014.

Renewables growth is driven by the feed-in tariff (FiT) system introduced in July 2012, under which utilities are required to buy renewable electricity at pre-set premiums for up to 20 years. The analysis notes that the FiT will place an extra burden on consumers as the higher prices for renewable power are passed onto bills.

Thermal sources will continue to account for the majority of capacity and are forecast to reach 213 GW by 2025.

"Despite the new Japanese government's rethink on the decision to phase out nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster, there is still a focus on promoting renewable power, not only to reduce reliance on the nuclear sector but also to tackle the huge cost of importing natural gas and oil," said GlobalData analyst Chiradeep Chatterjee.

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