Renewable Energy Insitute today released the English version of the report "Analysis of Solar Power Generation Costs in Japan 2021" originally published on 8 September 2021 in Japanese.
This report is the follow-up to the report published in 2019, “Solar Power Generation Costs in Japan: Current Status and Future Outlook” (the “2019 report”), and it analyzes the most recent trends in solar PV costs in Japan. In the same way with the 2019 report, the analysis is based on cost information obtained from solar PV power plant operators on investment and operation and maintenance costs and looks again at the current cost structure of solar PV in order to analyze the current status of solar PV generation costs in Japan.
The findings of the study generally reconfirm the findings of the 2019 report; with the decline in costs for solar PV modules, mounting systems, and installation costs, investment costs for solar PV generation have been decreasing over time.
On the other hand, it is interesting to note that investment costs rose in 2020, which can be seen as the impact of regulatory changes introduced in 2018 by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, that mandated that plants certified between fiscal 2012 and fiscal 2014 must promptly begin operating by the end of 2020 if they are not yet in operation.
This report is the follow-up to the report published in 2019, “Solar Power Generation Costs in Japan: Current Status and Future Outlook” (the “2019 report”), and it analyzes the most recent trends in solar PV costs in Japan. In the same way with the 2019 report, the analysis is based on cost information obtained from solar PV power plant operators on investment and operation and maintenance costs and looks again at the current cost structure of solar PV in order to analyze the current status of solar PV generation costs in Japan.
The findings of the study generally reconfirm the findings of the 2019 report; with the decline in costs for solar PV modules, mounting systems, and installation costs, investment costs for solar PV generation have been decreasing over time.
On the other hand, it is interesting to note that investment costs rose in 2020, which can be seen as the impact of regulatory changes introduced in 2018 by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, that mandated that plants certified between fiscal 2012 and fiscal 2014 must promptly begin operating by the end of 2020 if they are not yet in operation.
Contents
Introduction: Study Background and Objectives
1 Characteristics of Investment Cost Structure
1.1 Trends in Investment Costs
1.2 Solar Module Costs
1.3 Inverter Costs
1.4 Mounting System Costs
1.5 Grid Connection Costs
2 Factor Impacting Investment Costs
2.1 Investment Costs by Certification Year
2.2 Investment Costs by Contract Type
3 Structure of Operation and Maintenance Costs
3.1 Operation and Maintenance Cost by Plant Size
3.2 Changes in Operation and Maintenance Costs Over Time
3.3 Operation and Maintenance Costs by Certification Year
Summary of Analysis Findings
