Japanese policymakers are now looking at rooftop solar panels as land is scarce in the country and agrivoltaics, building-integrated PV (BIPV), and floating solar are still in their infancy, reports Mark Hutchins.
As 2030 and its targets for decarbonization loom, Japan is looking for ways to raise its commitment to renewable energy. For solar, already constrained by a shortage of suitable land to develop new projects, rooftops offer the best opportunity to rapidly build new generation capacity. And now both the central government and regional authorities in Japan are unveiling policies to support the installation of solar on the rooftops of homes and businesses throughout the country.
Japan is targeting a 46% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, using 2013 emissions as a baseline. As part of that goal, the country has also set itself the target of having at least 36% to 38% renewables in its energy mix by the same deadline.
Speaking at a conference held during World Smart Energy Week in Tokyo, in March, Kazuya Inoue, director of climate change policy at Japan’s Ministry of Environment, noted that solar – with the shortest lead time of any renewable energy technology – will have the largest role to play in meeting the renewables target. “The Ministry of Environment is committed to solar,” he told the audience in Tokyo, adding that he sees benefits beyond decarbonization, with plans for new solar installations to create jobs and revitalize local economies across Japan.
There is, however, a long way to go to realize all of this. Inoue also noted in his speech that under current plans, meeting the 2030 targets will require a near-doubling of Japan’s total installed PV capacity, which stood just below 70 GW at the end of 2022. The policy director closed his speech by citing a study that showed Japan’s renewable energy potential amounts to 1.8 times expected demand up to 2050, and stated that “much, still, is not being done to exploit this potential.”
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