Solar power in Japan

Solar power in Japan has been expanding since the late 1990s. Japan is a large installer of domestic <a href="/facts/PV_systems/rD4rcJB8">PV systems</a>, with most of them grid connected. The country was a major manufacturer and exporter of photovoltaics (PV), with a global market share of around 50% in the early 2000s. However, by 2019, this had dropped to below 1% due to the rise of state-backed production in China.
With almost no domestic oil and gas reserves, Japan began investing heavily in research and development of <a href="/facts/Renewable_energy/6Bu6IrpF">renewable energy</a> and <a href="/facts/Energy_conservation/Sk7d6Dg2">energy conservation</a> following the <a href="/facts/1973_oil_crisis/fpuVQF2T">1973 oil crisis</a>. The <a href="/facts/New_Sunshine_Project/KDc8c0lv">Sunshine Project</a> (1973–1992) explored the potential of <a href="/facts/Solar_power/NpgmEbU2">solar power</a>, <a href="/facts/Geothermal_power/1zdrqHdU">geothermal power</a>, <a href="/facts/Coal_liquefaction/3gUFs92t">liquefied coal</a>, and <a href="/facts/Hydrogen_economy/TNdU0eR2">hydrogen</a> as primary energy sources. In 1992, during the early years of commercial PV installation, Japan accounted for 27.8% of global PV production, and by 2004, this had risen to 50.4%. Although conventional PV is no longer mass-produced in the country, Japan has been investing in <a href="/facts/Perovskite_solar_cell/MXxKPjPq">perovskite solar cell</a> technology in recent years, a technology invented by <a href="/facts/Tsutomu_Miyasaka/sNeFDjDe">Tsutomu Miyasaka</a>. Commercial production of perovskite cells in Japan is expected to begin by 2027.
Solar power has become an important national priority since the country's shift in policies toward <a href="/facts/Renewable_energy/6Bu6IrpF">renewable energy</a> after the <a href="/facts/Fukushima_nuclear_accident/E74heuvS">Fukushima nuclear accident</a> in 2011.
Japan was the world's second largest market for solar PV growth in 2013 and 2014, adding a record 6.97 GW and 9.74 GW of nominal nameplate capacity, respectively. 
By the end of 2017, cumulative capacity reached 50 GW, the world's second largest solar PV installed capacity, behind <a href="/facts/Solar_power_in_China/yJe96Bah">China</a>. In line with the significant rise in installations and capacity, solar power accounted for 9.9% of Japan's national electricity generation in 2022, up from 0.3% in 2010.

Solar power in Japan open-in-new

Solar power in Japan