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Japan Impresses with its FIT (Feed-In-Tariff)
http://www.economywatch.com/features/Japan-Impresses-with-its-FIT-Feed-In-Tariff.11-01-14.html[font face=Serif][font size=5]Japan Impresses with its FIT (Feed-In-Tariff)[/font]
Date: 1 November 2014
[font size=4]The effects of Japan’s feed-in tariff (FIT) for renewable energy have been impressive. Since 2011, Japan has seen a massive expansion of solar photovoltaics (PV). The size of the domestic market increased from 1GW in 2010 to almost 7GW in 2013. This solar expansion is expected to continue with the 2020 target for PV installations raised from 14GW to 28GW. But the success of renewable energy should not be taken for granted.[/font]
[font size=3]So far, the expansion of renewables in Japan has overwhelmingly been about PV, while wind power remains underutilised. Eighty per cent of the projected expansion will be in PV and the FIT has not led to any upswing in wind power installations. In 2013, Japan installed nearly 100 times more solar power than wind. This is partly because new regulations have temporarily slowed wind power installation down. But Japan is also not emphasising wind power — the 2020 target for wind is only 5GW.
There are also worries that Japan’s FIT may be too generous. The solar FIT is currently about twice as high as Germany’s. One may wonder if this is a problem — if Japan is serious about renewables then surely a large FIT is better than a small one? After all, the more generous the FIT is, the higher the number of installations.
…
A key problem with FITs is that the more successful they are, the more expensive they become (more capacity means bigger subsidies). For European countries still suffering from the global financial crisis, this cost has been heavy. In Germany, expenses for 2014 will come to around €24 billion (US$30.5 billion). Japan has gone through two and a half decades of economic stagnation, runs heavy budget deficits, and has a national debt higher than virtually any other developed country. Sooner or later, Japan must ask itself whether or not it can sustain the costs incurred from its FIT.
…[/font][/font]
Date: 1 November 2014
[font size=4]The effects of Japan’s feed-in tariff (FIT) for renewable energy have been impressive. Since 2011, Japan has seen a massive expansion of solar photovoltaics (PV). The size of the domestic market increased from 1GW in 2010 to almost 7GW in 2013. This solar expansion is expected to continue with the 2020 target for PV installations raised from 14GW to 28GW. But the success of renewable energy should not be taken for granted.[/font]
[font size=3]So far, the expansion of renewables in Japan has overwhelmingly been about PV, while wind power remains underutilised. Eighty per cent of the projected expansion will be in PV and the FIT has not led to any upswing in wind power installations. In 2013, Japan installed nearly 100 times more solar power than wind. This is partly because new regulations have temporarily slowed wind power installation down. But Japan is also not emphasising wind power — the 2020 target for wind is only 5GW.
There are also worries that Japan’s FIT may be too generous. The solar FIT is currently about twice as high as Germany’s. One may wonder if this is a problem — if Japan is serious about renewables then surely a large FIT is better than a small one? After all, the more generous the FIT is, the higher the number of installations.
…
A key problem with FITs is that the more successful they are, the more expensive they become (more capacity means bigger subsidies). For European countries still suffering from the global financial crisis, this cost has been heavy. In Germany, expenses for 2014 will come to around €24 billion (US$30.5 billion). Japan has gone through two and a half decades of economic stagnation, runs heavy budget deficits, and has a national debt higher than virtually any other developed country. Sooner or later, Japan must ask itself whether or not it can sustain the costs incurred from its FIT.
…[/font][/font]