Come April 2025 and Japan's capital Tokyo may make it mandatory for all new buildings and homes to install rooftop solar panels, according to plans shared by Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) recently.
Tokyo's Governor Yuriko Koike revealed the plans during a press conference. She said the directive could cover as many as 50 major home building companies that will be needed to abide by the same.
Specifically, the ruling will apply to all buildings and homes with a total floor space of less than 2,000 sq. mtr., and exclude those with a total floor space of less than 20 sq. mtr.
If it comes into effect, it could make Tokyo the 1st prefecture in Japan to have rooftop solar mandate for new homes, reported local media. The ruling will be accompanied by new energy saving standards. Local government plans to support the call with subsidies.
TMG will submit revisions to a related ordinance to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly during the December session and also seek 'understanding and cooperation' from residents and business operators.
These measures are aligned with the TMG's pledge to halve its GHG emissions from 2000 levels by 2030, and increase the use of renewable energy by around 50%. By 2050, Tokyo aims to become fully decarbonized.
According to the governor's office, in FY 2019 renewable energy accounted for close to 17.3% of total electricity generation in Tokyo. The government has been encouraging solar energy with various measures as making available information about suitability of buildings for solar through the Tokyo Rooftop Solar Register and feed-in-tariff (FIT) scheme.
Recently, Shulman Advisory's Dan Shulman observed that low turnout in the Japanese solar auctions points towards drying up of large scale solar pipeline, and that the future of solar PV in Japan to revolve around small, distributed projects (see Japan's 13th Solar PV Auction Undersubscribed).
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