Japan proposes four kinds of commercial solar that keep FIT and FIP support after April 2027
Serguey Asael Shinder2 min readJapan's Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE) has proposed which commercial solar projects should keep feed-in support once new ground-mounted commercial solar loses feed-in tariff (FIT) and feed-in premium (FIP) support on 1 April 2027, pv magazine reported on 6 October. The agency presented the proposal in late September to a renewable energy panel reporting to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
The four categories.
- Public land owned by national or local governments, but only when the government leases it out or runs the project itself. Land sold to developers would not qualify, because oversight could lapse.
- Projects approved under municipal decarbonisation plans. Being inside a renewable promotion zone is not enough; the project needs an approved regional decarbonisation promotion project plan.
- Solar carports. The agency asked the subcommittee whether support could encourage new standalone car parks to be built.
- Infrastructure: airports, roads, railways and ports. Urban parks are excluded.
How they were chosen. ANRE assessed 10 candidate categories against three tests: importance for future deployment, compatibility with local communities, and suitability for FIT and FIP. To pass the community test, a project must involve no new land development or major change in land use, or be overseen by government for its whole operating life.
What is out. Industrial parks and commercial sites, for lack of a uniform definition; former golf courses, former ski resorts and abandoned farmland, because of tree felling, topsoil removal and grading; and projects defined by supplying local utilities or emergency power, because those benefits cannot be verified objectively. Agrivoltaics is deferred to the next fiscal year while the agriculture ministry prepares rules on "desirable" projects, including shading below 30%.
Next steps. Certification criteria, the FIT/FIP split, auction rules, prices and support periods go to the committees between October and January, with public comment planned for February and March 2027.