Solar cells see record shipments in April-June quarter
Shipments of solar power generation cells increased 82.5 percent during the April-June quarter compared with the same period the previous year to reach a record high, figures released by the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association have shown.
The quarter saw shipments of solar cells with a total generating capacity of 83,260 kilowatts, a record high for a quarter. Over 90 percent of the shipments were for residences, with the total amount being enough to power about 2,000 average-sized homes.
This year the government and local bodies have implemented subsidy systems for the introduction of solar power generation, and the decrease in installation costs has spurred demand for home use.
"Shipments will continue to increase from the July-September quarter onwards," an association representative said.
Domestic shipments of solar cells had dwindled after a government subsidy system was cut off at the end of fiscal 2005. However, the government revived the system in January this year as an economic stimulus measure, and decided to launch a system this year to purchase surplus energy from homes generating their own power at twice the regular electricity fee. In addition, many prefectures, cities, towns and villages have started introducing their own subsidy systems since April.
The average cost of installing solar power generation systems is in the range of 2.1 million yen in some areas, but subsidies have reduced the cost to 50 to 70 percent of this amount.
Manufacturers of photovoltaic cells are also pouring effort into boosting sales. Kyocera Corp. has formed contracts with Aeon Co. and post offices across Japan to install solar power systems, and home manufacturers are also actively advertising solar power.
Click here for the original Japanese story
(Mainichi Japan) August 21, 2009
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