At the end of 2017, Japan's overall PV capacity was reportedly about 49 GW. Out of the top 30 operational solar portfolios at the end of 2017, Orix Corp. has maintained its top position for the second year in a row with 520 MW. It is followed by SoftBank's SB Energy with 390 MW and Mitsui & Co. with 336.6 MW. This data has been published by solar events organizer Solarplaza International BV ahead of its Solar Asset Management Asia Conference 2018, which will take place in May in Tokyo.
The analysis outlines that the top 30 solar portfolios in the country at the end of 2017 account for 4.6 GW of PV, an improvement of 1.3 GW or 40% over the cumulative capacity represented by the top 30 in 2015. From 2016, figures have increased by 1 GW.
In the list, which was compiled by Solarplaza, 6 new companies entered the market in 2017, led by Sparx with a portfolio of 157 MW.
Solarplaza reports that Japan's second largest island Hokkaido is home to 22.6% of the top 30's plants. It is followed by a 12.9% share in Fukuoka prefecture and 9.7% each in Aichi, Fukushima, Ibaraki and Yamaguchi prefectures.
The analysis also points out the vast capacity difference between the largest and smallest plants. Two of the top 3 portfolios own plants as small as 2 MW and as large as 111 MW.
Further details are available on Solar Asset Management Asia's website.
The Japanese PV market has grown due to the lucrative feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme for solar in recent years. However, in 2017, the market decreased significantly from 8.6 GW in 2016 to a range of 6.5 GW, estimated by IHS, to 7.5 GW, estimated by BNEF. The Japanese government is preparing to transition to an auctioning system, although the first solar auction resulted in little interest and led to bids that were much higher than in solar tenders conducted elsewhere in the world (see High Lowest Tariff In Japan's First PV Auction).