Japan soon to be largest solar market

[bananas]

Source: Bloomberg

Japan is set to overtake Germany as the world’s largest solar market by annual installations this year as government incentives to encourage clean energy in light of the Fukushima nuclear crisis attract investment.

Developers may install 6.9 gigawatts to 9.4 gigawatts of solar in 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Germany led solar installations in 2012 with 7.6 gigawatts of capacity.

The outlook from Bloomberg New Energy Finance revises the lower end of a forecast by the London-based researcher, which earlier called for Japan to install 6.1 gigawatts to 9.4 gigawatts of capacity. Based on the most conservative estimates, BNEF previously said China would edge out Japan as the world’s largest market this year.

The change comes after the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association announced that domestic shipments of solar modules rose 73 percent in the first three months of the year compared with the previous quarter, according to the report.

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Read more: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/06/05/business/japan-soon-to-be-largest-solar-market/#.Ua4QwEDVArU

[exboyfil]

1. Where are they putting it?

Like Germany they are not very sunny (unless you are a Fox viewer) and they also have little open land. It should be an embarrassment to us when we look at our situation (lots of land and few people in comparison with a vast portion of our country in the sun belt). A map shows that all of continental (and much of Alaska) has more potential solar energy than Japan. Japan is around 800-1000 kWh/m^2/yr with places like Arizona being in the 2200-2400 kWh/m^2/yr range. Even Minnesota is in the 1400-1600 range.


http://www.alternativesjournal.ca/community/blogs/renewable-energy/concentrated-solar-power-focusing-our-energy

[LeftInTX]

3. Cool site!

[RobertEarl]

2. Sometimes lessons learned are real hard

Japan has learned its lesson and will abandon nukes. Soon, the power required to keep the pumps running at Fukushima will be solar powered.

Quite the twist, eh?

Here in the US, where, per capita, we have the highest emissions, let us hope that we do not have to get smacked hard up side the head before we change our power supplies. But it looks like it will take a hard smack to turn us.

[Auggie]

4. I don't expect any U.S. change in my lifetime

[RobertEarl]

5. I expect change

Change is the only thing that we can count on.

We are moving toward closing down nukes. Seeing Japan suffer has been an awful realization. What it will take is for a mass of people to demand change.

That demand can take many faces, but the main demand is obvious: No more nukes. Just like Japan is doing. Lets get this ball rolling.

[Auggie]

6. I'll do my part to help ...

don't mean to be so cynical.