Past Discussions on PV Power Generation at METI Council

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)’s council on renewable energy has been reorganized as the Subcommittee on Making Renewable Energy a Main Power Source, succeeding the Subcommittee for Large-volume Introduction Renewable Energy and of Next Generation Electricity Network. This reorganization reflects the fact that future renewable energy expansion has entered a new phase.

The Subcommittee for Large-volume Introduction of Renewable Energy and Next Generation Electricity Network was launched in December 2017. It succeeded both the New and Renewable Energy Subcommittee, established in June 2014 to translate the renewable energy policies of the Fourth Strategic Energy Plan of April 2014 into concrete measures, and the Study Group on policy issues in the era of large-volume introduction of renewable energy, established in May 2017.

Over the 10 years through February 2026, it met 79 times and worked to promote the sound expansion of renewable energy deployment while pursuing cost reduction. During this period, it set out the policy of making renewable energy a main power source, established renewable energy policy directions and deployment targets in the Fifth through Seventh Strategic Energy Plans, and worked on the transition from the former FIT program to the current FIT and FIP programs. More recently, in coordination with the Procurement Price Calculation Committee, it has guided ground-mounted PV systems, which have begun to achieve cost competitiveness among the five renewable power sources, toward graduation from the FIT and FIP programs.

Future Discussions on PV Power Generation at METI Council

Meanwhile, the newly reorganized Subcommittee on Making Renewable Energy a Main Power Source has evolved into a forum for policy discussions aimed at making renewable energy a main power source in the true sense. The subcommittee now focuses not only on increasing installed capacity, but also on improving the quality of renewable energy as a power source that assumes responsibilities comparable to those of conventional power sources. The subcommittee will seek to achieve the renewable energy deployment targets set out in the Seventh Strategic Energy Plan.

For PV in particular, deployment is entering a phase of transition from introduction supported by the FIT and FIP programs to self-reliant deployment without support. 

Current Status of PV Deployment

As of the end of March 2026, cumulative PV installed capacity in Japan reached around 80 GW AC (over 100 GW DC). However, despite the rapid growth of annual global PV market to around 700 GW, the deployment momentum under Japan’s FIT and FIP programs remains weak. Even when subsidies from the Ministry of the Environment (MoE) are included, Japan’s annual PV installations remain within the range of 5 to 7 GW. As more countries exceed 10 GW in annual installations, Japan has fallen out of the world’s top 10 countries by annual installations.

Target Installed Capacity Going Forward

Even under these circumstances, Japan has set its FY 2040 target for electricity generation from PV at 253 to 348 TWh, the largest among all power sources.

Based on electricity generation per unit of installed capacity used in the Sixth Strategic Energy Plan, this corresponds to 200 to 280 GW of installed capacity. Since cumulative PV installed capacity through FY 2025 is around 80 GW, Japan will need an additional 120 to 200 GW of new deployment by 2040, including 20 GW of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Over the next 15 years, this will require average annual deployment of 8 to 13 GW, meaning that annual installations must rise to 1.5 to 2.5 times the current level.

Discussions at the Subcommittee on Making Renewable Energy a Main Power Source

The newly established Subcommittee on Making Renewable Energy a Main Power Source is currently discussing the policy for prioritizing support for utility-scale PV systems under the FIT/FIP programs from FY 2027 onward. This reflects the fact that support for utility-scale ground-mounted PV systems under the FIT and FIP programs will end this fiscal year, FY 2026 ending in March 2027, while the Package of Measures for MW-scale PV Projects and the Procurement Price Calculation Committee have indicated a policy and view of prioritizing support on deployment that is designed to ensure harmony with local communities.

The subcommittee has met four times to date, hearing from relevant ministries and agencies, local governments, and industry associations, and is proceeding with the selection of categories of PV systems that are designed to coexist with local communities—starting with rooftop installations—for which support under the FIT and FIP programs should be prioritized.

Expectations for the Subcommittee on Making Renewable Energy a Main Power Source

PV is currently facing the challenges of reduced flexibility for further expansion due to its variability, grid and location constraints, as well as the need to ensure harmony with local communities. At the same time, in addition to deployment as a power generation business, new installations for self consumption using PPA models have begun to increase.

With deployment having advanced this far, there are limits to further expansion that depends on the current FIT and FIP programs. To overcome the current barriers to deployment and achieve the target PV installed capacity, Japan must generate momentum through a combination of bold policy development, including regulatory reform and preferential tax measures; strengthening the foundation of the PV industry that supports stable and low-cost supply; deployment led by groups of electricity consumers pursuing a shift to green power; the creation of technological integration. new markets; and development and The role of the Subcommittee on Making Renewable Energy a Main Power Source is significant. In addition to the short-term responses described above, it will also be important for the subcommittee to deliberate on measures to accelerate and achieve 3 self-sustained PV deployment toward 2040.

As shown in Table 1, it is hoped the subcommittee will urgently develop a grand design, or PV strategy, through multifaceted discussions and deliberations on expanding deployment from the perspectives of relevant ministries and governments, agencies, the local PV industry, electricity consumer groups, market formation, and technology, all on a timeline extending to 2040 for achieving PV deployment targets. The PV deployment targets set by relevant ministries responsible for and agencies expanding PV deployment, the measures for achieving those targets, and the roadmap for market formation that are presented in the grand design will demonstrate the continuity of deployment policy and growth potential for markets and industries. At the same time, for the PV industry, industries utilizing PV, and electricity consumer groups that will drive deployment expansion, they will serve as major guidelines for future investment and deployment aimed at forming players, creating markets, and accelerating the shift to renewable energy toward independence of achieving the PV power generation. This will also lead to stronger deployment capacity for PV through integrated efforts with relevant ministries, agencies, and local governments.

Table 1 Grand design expected of the Subcommittee on Making Renewable Energy a Main Power Source for establishing PV as a main power source

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