Solar Power Generation: Promote Consolidation of Businesses into Superior Operators

Editorial

14:55 JST, May 28, 2025

The government has begun to reorganize the huge crowd of solar power generation operators. It is important to consolidate these businesses into major operators that local residents can trust in terms of safety measures, and to steadily promote decarbonization.

In 2012, after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the government launched a system to purchase electricity produced with renewable energy sources, including solar power, at high prices.

Electricity generated by operators is purchased at fixed prices for 20 years from the start of generation, in principle. The initial price was as high as ¥40 per kilowatt-hour, four times the current price, which prompted many small-scale operators to enter the market.

As a result, many operators in Japan have installed solar panels on areas about the size of a tennis court.

The purchases at high prices will gradually come to an end from fiscal 2032 onward. There are concerns that this will lead to a string of unprofitable operators withdrawing from the market, leaving their equipment unattended.

There have already been a number of cases of broken panels being abandoned in various parts of the country. It has been pointed out that solar power plants built in mountainous areas are at risk of causing landslides. Such a situation must be prevented.

To deal with such cases, the government introduced a system in April to certify as “qualified” large-scale operators that meet certain requirements — such as having a power generation capacity of 50,000 kilowatts or more — and give them preferential treatment in taking over the operations of other businesses.

Under the new system, qualified operators are exempt from the briefing sessions with local governments that are required when taking over a business. Instead, they only have to announce the progress of the business on their own websites, among other things.

In addition, the requirement that an engineer arrive within two hours in the event of equipment failure has also been relaxed.

Based on the new system, Kyushu Railway Co. plans to team up with Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking and other entities to purchase small- and medium-scale solar power generation facilities in Kyushu. It is hoped that such moves will become more common.

In its Strategic Energy Plan formulated this year, the government aims to increase the share of solar power generation in the power supply mix to 23%-29% in fiscal 2040 from 9.8% in fiscal 2023.

However, the hurdles to achieving this goal are high, as the land suitable for solar power generation in Japan is decreasing year by year. It will be necessary to utilize suitable land without neglecting it.

It is also vital for the government to strictly certify qualified operators. There is no end to the problems with local residents caused by the abandonment of solar panels.

Major operators who take over a business also bear a heavy responsibility. They will be required to continue long-term, stable operations with constant efforts to establish relations of trust with local residents.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 28, 2025)