{"id":16253,"date":"2026-05-03T06:04:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T06:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/16253\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T06:04:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T06:04:23","slug":"as-iran-war-sends-oil-prices-soaring-some-see-fresh-potential-for-solar-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/16253\/","title":{"rendered":"As Iran war sends oil prices soaring, some see fresh potential for solar in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the surface, a natural fallout of the energy crisis triggered by the Iran war could see resource-poor Japan pivot to renewable energy in order to reduce its heavy dependence on oil from the Middle East.<\/p>\n

But two months since the start of the war, a sea change to energy policy looks like a long shot.<\/p>\n

In recent months, Japan has stepped up regulations<\/a> against megasolar projects, which have proven unpopular<\/a> in many corners of the country due to the destruction of the natural environment and lack of coordination with neighboring communities. Japan also announced it will stop offering subsidies for newly installed industrial-use solar panels from April 2027, while submitting a bill in the current parliament session to mandate the recycling of old panels.<\/p>\n

While some of these government measures may be justified to weed out unscrupulous operators, some analysts and civil society advocates say Japan can do more to promote the proper adoption of solar.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmid this Iran crisis and surges in oil prices, you\u2019d expect people to seize it as an opportunity to reassess things or rethink their approach,\u201d Kimiko Hirata, executive director of independent thinktank Climate Integrate, told a news briefing last month. \u201cBut overall, the momentum to shift to renewables is still quite weak in Japan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hirata notes that Japan has long perceived renewable energy as unreliable, costly, and overly dependent on China. Recent geopolitical tensions and the environmental impact of large-scale solar projects have further entrenched this view domestically, despite recent moves by other countries in Asia, such as South Korea and the Philippines, to rapidly boost solar capacity to protect their consumers against global price movements.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Barley<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Barley grows under solar panels in the city of Sosa, Chiba Prefecture.
\n | JOHAN BROOKS\n <\/p>\n

In its latest analysis of the government\u2019s energy-related spending, the think tank said Japan allocated 3.3% of its national budget on climate and energy measures for fiscal 2026, out of which renewables accounted for just 3%. By contrast, the portion of that outlay for energy-conserving measures made up 52%, though most of that is being saved for spending related to artificial intelligence and semiconductors. Spending on fossil fuels and nuclear power (including nuclear fusion) followed, at 21% and 10%, respectively.<\/p>\n

For advocates of renewable power, however, there is reason for cautious optimism. Some businesses have demonstrated how well-executed renewable energy projects \u2014 especially when it comes to rooftop solar and agrivoltaics (the dual use of land for agriculture and solar energy generation) \u2014 can reduce energy costs for consumers and help support community well-being.<\/p>\n

Going off-grid<\/p>\n

Seiya Miyake, a former nuclear engineer at Kansai Electric Power Co., is the CEO of the Renewable Energy Promotion Organization, an \u201caggregator\u201d that bundles small renewable energy producers and trades the energy they produce with regional utility companies.<\/p>\n

A year and a half ago, he set up a group company called Repo Storage, based on his experience installing do-it-yourself solar power systems in his parents\u2019 home in Mie Prefecture and for his new home in Chiba Prefecture. He bought solar panels and batteries online from China\u00a0and was surprised at how cheap they were compared with the systems being sold in Japan. While some Chinese solar panels are controversial due to ties to forced labor by the Uyghur minority group in the Xinjiang region, Miyake says his company uses products made in Shenzhen that are free from such human rights concerns.<\/p>\n

In Japan, the initial cost for installing rooftop solar power systems remains high, costing about \u00a53.3 million to produce 10 kilowatt-hours, he says, noting that it takes about 20 years for the average home (outside heavily subsidized Tokyo<\/a>) to break even on solar installations, assuming that the household saves about \u00a5170,000 per year by consuming 70% of the energy produced and sells the remaining 30% to the grid.<\/p>\n

To sell electricity to the grid, people need to buy panels and batteries from domestically certified manufacturers. Also, while some municipalities offer subsidies for home-based solar systems, the application process can take up to a year. In some cities, applicants must win a lottery to be eligible.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Repo<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Repo Storage, a Tokyo-based energy solution provider, markets off-grid solar power systems where people harvest energy only for their home-based consumption and not for selling.
\n | COURTESY OF REPO STORAGE\n <\/p>\n

Miyake, on the other hand, markets what he dubs \u201cthe Miyake method,\u201d whereby people harvest energy only for their home-based consumption and not for selling, just like they harvest vegetables from their gardens.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t connect to the grid and don\u2019t apply for subsidies, you can use internationally certified high-quality models,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can also set the system up quickly and cheaply.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a scenario where users buy units from Repo Storage and install panels with a capacity of 7 kW, along with batteries capable of storing 16kWh, both imported from abroad, the initial cost is estimated at \u00a52 million. While prices of foreign models have been rising since the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, people should still be able to recover installation costs within 10 years, he says.<\/p>\n

The firm has applied for a patent for a control technology that would allow off-grid homes to buy power from utility companies in case of bad weather or other emergencies. In such situations, users can automatically get connected to the grid and avoid blackouts, he says.<\/p>\n

The firm, which has sold about 30 units to individuals around the country so far, won an award last December in a business pitch contest organized by the Japan Climate Leaders Partnership, a coalition of 230 companies committed to climate action.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the spread of EV batteries, the production cost of lithium-ion batteries (globally) has come down to one-fifth of what it used to be 10 years ago,\u201d he says, suggesting more people can take advantage of price falls amid rising energy prices. \u201cBut many people in Japan haven\u2019t benefited from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Solar sharing for sustainability<\/p>\n

Chiba Prefecture-based Citizens Energy Chiba Co., known by its nickname Min-ene (derived from its Japanese name, Shimin Enerugi Chiba), and its group company Terra, are a major force in the field of solar sharing, known as agrivoltaics, in which farmers grow crops under solar panels.<\/p>\n

Originally set up in 2014 by nine local environmentally conscious residents who each put up \u00a5100,000 as capital, Min-ene has grown into a firm with capital holdings of \u00a5500 million. The company\u2019s first solar farm was manually built using scaffolding pipes, and it raised funds by soliciting citizens to become owners of the panels.<\/p>\n

While the number of permits issued for agrivoltaic farms in Japan has grown to a total of 6,137 as of March 2024, Min-ene differentiates itself from many other farms by adopting a method developed by retired engineer Akira Nagashima.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Some<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Some analysts and civil society advocates say Japan can do more to promote the proper adoption of solar power.
\n | JOHAN BROOKS\n <\/p>\n

In 2004, long before agrivoltaics took off in Japan, Nagashima invented the idea of installing rows of solar panels on farmland at certain intervals so that just around 30% of sunlight would be blocked.<\/p>\n

The panels are raised about 3 meters off the ground so that agricultural machinery can freely operate underneath. Min-ene\u2019s panels are long and narrow, with twice as much space between them to allow wind and sun through. The panels are tilted at angles of 25 and 30 degrees, depending on their orientation, according to Tomomitsu Miyashita, a senior managing director of Min-ene.<\/p>\n

This design is based on Nagashima\u2019s finding that there\u2019s a saturation point for the amount of light needed to promote photosynthesis, and that plants can actually grow better with moderate shade. Nagashima, who made this patented farming method public so other people could freely use it, later built a test field in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture.<\/p>\n

\u201cSolar sharing was invented to support farmers so they can continue farming (without going bankrupt),\u201d Miyashita says.<\/p>\n

Min-ene now operates 31 solar farms, growing barley and soy beans under rows of panels in the city of Sosa in\u00a0Chiba Prefecture\u00a0mostly on what used to be idle or abandoned farmland. Over the last four years, the company has received more than 2,100 visitors who are interested in learning about their methodology, Miyashita says.<\/p>\n

Miyashita adds that Min-ene is rooted in Sosa and is committed to sharing its profits with the local community. It has set up two agricultural corporations to which it provides subsidies for the farming work in proportion to the size of the fields. It has also come up with a system for all the area\u2019s energy producers, including Min-ene, to chip in a total of \u00a54 million to \u00a54.5 million per year to a local fund that supports community projects. Among the projects are eco-friendly endeavors such as cleaning up abandoned farmland filled with illegally dumped waste and donating computer monitors to a local elementary school.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n A test field for film-type perovskite solar cells at a solar sharing farm in Sosa, Chiba Prefecture
\n | JOHAN BROOKS\n <\/p>\n

Terra, however, was founded with an eye on scaling up solar sharing worldwide, and it is engaged in not only power generation, but also consulting and product development. Mitsuhiro Higashi, an owner of an organic vegetable store turned-president of Min-ene, founded Terra in 2021, and he is keen to promote solar sharing in parts of the world where there\u2019s a dire energy shortage.<\/p>\n

In 2024, Terra and Sekisui Chemical launched Japan\u2019s first joint field test of film-type perovskite solar cells in solar sharing in Sosa. Sekisui Chemical is a front-runner in the development of perovskite panels, a Japan-born technology that is being touted as a way to help the country meet its renewable energy goals and gain a competitive edge over China, which dominates the global solar market.<\/p>\n

Perovskite panels could be particularly key for Japan, where land is limited, because they are light and bendable and therefore can be placed on curved surfaces and places where conventional silicon-based panels cannot be installed. They can also capture sunlight from wider angles than silicon panels, though industry experts say that cost and durability challenges need to be addressed for them to become commercially viable.<\/p>\n

The firms are testing installation methods, measuring power generation efficiency and assessing impacts on crop growth. They say they plan to use the results to scale deployment nationwide, including on idle or abandoned farmland, with the overarching goal of contributing to decarbonization efforts.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Mitsuhiro<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Mitsuhiro Higashi, CEO of solar farm operator Min-ene and its group company Terra, aims to spread solar sharing in parts of the world struggling with a severe energy shortage.
\n | JOHAN BROOKS\n <\/p>\n

In addition, Terra is spearheading projects to expand solar sharing abroad, aiming to support sustainable development in the Global South. One initiative focuses on revitalizing the Ethiopian city of Mekelle, where over 200,000 internally displaced people have settled.<\/p>\n

Higashi says he envisions providing energy, food and jobs there by using the energy generated from solar sharing to power machines that extract water from the air, enabling crop production.<\/p>\n

While the project sounds undeniably ambitious, Higashi\u2019s proposal won a business idea contest focused on refugee issues that was held by the Japan International Cooperation Agency at the Osaka Expo last August. As one of four winners in the contest, Higashi will have an opportunity to tour the city and receive support from business consultants. He plans to make several trips to Mekelle this year and aims to establish two pilot facilities by next March.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe picked Ethiopia as a starting point because it presents the toughest challenges,\u201d Higashi says. \u201cThe country has a really tragic history, including sexual violence against women. So if we can make it work there, we can apply the model across Africa, be it Tanzania, Kenya or Uganda.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the surface, a natural fallout of the energy crisis triggered by the Iran war could see resource-poor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16254,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2451,3219,597,2574,4848,34,8,33,35,2339,3417],"class_list":["post-16253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-japan","tag-agriculture","tag-batteries","tag-chiba","tag-climate-change","tag-electricity","tag-energy","tag-japan","tag-nihon","tag-oil","tag-renewables","tag-solar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}