Spain Overtakes Japan as #2 in Solar

Photo Credit: laurenatclemson

Even while Japan is revving up plans to further incentivize solar energy, their ranking in the global solar world continues to fall. As of the close of 2008, Japan has officially dropped out of its #2 slot for existing grid-connected solar photovoltaic capacity, overtaken by surging Spain. A report from the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) broke the news.

Once upon a time (2005) Japan was the world leader in existing PV capacity before being overrun by Germany’s aggressive solar policy. According to the REN21 report, at the end of 2008, Germany still holds a commanding lead with 5,400 megawatts capacity, followed by Spain’s 2,300 MW and Japan’s 1,970 MW.

Photo Credit: OiMax

That same report placed Japan in fourth place for newly installed solar PV capacity in 2008. This is certainly the wrong direction for a country that is home to the world’s second largest solar cell maker (Sharp) — as good a reason as any to beef up solar installations. Spain claimed first place in added capacity with 1.7 million kilowatts, followed by Germany at 1.5 million kW, United States with 300,000 kW, and Japan with 240,000 kW.

Source: Japan Today

Posted on April 15th in Solar News by Dan.