Tag Archives: Japan solar

The Future of Japan’s Solar Industry Is Uncertain

By Roy L Hales

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According to Amory Lovins, “Japan has twice the per-hectare high-quality renewable potential of North America, three times that of Europe, and nine times that of Germany.” Japan is currently #4 in the Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI). There is a large untapped geothermal potential. By the end  of 2013 wind energy was feeding 2.6 GW to the grid, but the real leader of the renewable sector was solar. There was 13.5 GW of solar capacity. Now the future of Japan’s solar industry is uncertain.

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Riverside Energy Systems Shows BC’s Solar Potential

By Roy L Hales

According to Dave Egles’ study, the Potential for Solar Power in British Columbia: 2007 to 2025, BC’s climate is much more amenable to solar than either Germany’s or Japan’s. The average production of a PV solar array in Kamloops, for example, is 1160 kWh/kW of PV installed. Even Vancouver (1009) has much more solar potential than Tokyo (885) or Berlin (only 848).  One of our readers has provided more recent data that shows the last two figures are probably too low (see comments, below), but it is obvious BC has a great deal of untapped potential.

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