At least five Japanese utilities are restricting grid access for new solar farms, citing difficulties absorbing high volumes of electricity from intermittent sources.
“After spending almost $30 billion on solar energy in a single year and installing as many panels as exist in the whole of Spain, Japan is preparing to ratchet back its boom in photovoltaic power,” Watanabe reports.
After the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns in 2011, Japan offered generous solar incentives, and its trade ministry approved plans for 72 GW of renewable energy projects. Investment tripled between 2010 and 2013, to US$29.3 billion, making Japan the world’s second-largest solar market.
