January 27, 2012
Keywords: Renewable Energy
While new wind power installations are skyrocketing globally, in recent years Japan has seen a stagnation of growth in its annual installed wind capacity. Reasons for this trend include limitations on the capacity that can be recruited in areas that already have many installations, because of restrictions on grid capacity. This leads to lotteries and bidding over installation rights. In addition, at a time when there are various location restrictions, the slump in electricity prices caused by the RPS law and the lack of transparency toward future laws also play a role. Moreover, the business profitability of wind power installations is worsening as installation costs increase, caused by the global increase in demand for wind power facilities and facility specifications unique to Japan.
Installed wind power capacity and policies promoting installations, by country, are as follows:
Country | New Capacity 2010 (MW) | Total Installed Capacity (MW) | Policies, etc. | |
1 | China | 18,928 | 44,733 | Feed-in Tariff (total capacity) |
2 | U.S. | 5,115 | 40,180 | State policies (mostly RPS), and Federal Government's Production Tax Credit (PTC) |
3 | India | 2,139 | 13,065 | |
4 | Spain | 1,516 | 20,676 | Feed-in Tariff (total capacity) |
5 | Germany | 1,493 | 27,214 | Feed-in Tariff (total capacity) |
Japan | 221 | 2,304 | Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Law |
* Japan's act on renewable energy came into effect on August 26, 2011, and the FIT scheme in total capacity will start from July 2012.
References:
Back to Current Status of Renewable Energy in Japan
Go to Current Status of Wind Power in Japan (2010)
* Updated figures and other data are shown in italics.