Empty Car Park Spaces Offer Japan a place for Solar Panels

Developers of solar panal projects in Japan are looking to rooftops and empty lots in response to constraints limiting connections to the grid and difficulties finding suitable land. government approvals for smaller-sized projects of less than 1 megawatt have outnumbered larger projects every month since 2013, according to data based on official figures.

 The pattern of approvals reverses the trend set when Japan first began offering incentives for clean-energy in July 2012. Developers initially favored “mega” projects built on large patches of open land.

From May 2013 through January -- the latest available figures provided by the government -- Japan approved 6,500 megawatts of solar projects in the 10-kilowatt to 1-megawatt category. That’s double the approvals for larger projects. A solar plant with 1 megawatt of capacity can generate enough electricity for about 316 typical Japanese homes.

Projects of less than 1 megawatt are usually found on rooftops, unused land, or in industrial areas, the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies said in a report in March. The segment accounted for about a half of Japan’s solar capacity added after the introduction of inducements designed to boost clean-energy development, according to the report.