Solar Lessons from the Land of the Rising Sun
By
Julia Hamm, Solar Electric Power Association | December 1,
2010
When most people think "solar electric power" -- even people in our industry -- they tend to think "sunbelt." California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, that's where the future of solar lies in the United States. It's one of our industry's biggest myths, one that the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) works every day to refute. The reality here in the United States is that solar electric power has a foothold in every region of the country. To cite just two examples, Public Service Electric & Gas Company in New Jersey and Public Service Company of Colorado are two of the top ten utilities in terms of installed solar megawatts, according to SEPA’s 2009 Utility Solar Rankings. Around the world, many countries not typically thought of as sunny or tropical are also investing heavily in solar electric power. In July, I led a delegation of utility leaders on a fact-finding mission to Japan. The trip included 18 utility executives and managers, and we traveled around the Tokyo area for three days meeting with representatives from Japanese utilities, government agencies, research organizations and solar companies. We also toured facilities in central Japan, before wrapping up the trip in Kyoto. Japan may be the Land of the Rising Sun, but Tokyo experiences more cloudy days than sunny days and most of the country experiences a two-month rainy season. Unlike the United States, Japan’s climate and geography do not lend themselves well to renewable energy generation from wind or hydropower. So to meet its renewable energy goals, Japan has embraced solar at the consumer, manufacturing and national policy levels. We came away impressed with the country’s commitment. While the United States and Japan are about on par in terms of solar capacity installed, we can learn a lot from our number one ally in the Pacific. On November 18, SEPA published a full report that summarizes our findings. From that report, here are some initial takeaways that have emerged from observation made by members of the delegation:
This is the third fact-finding mission that SEPA has sponsored, following similar trips to Germany and Spain. It won’t be the last. In fact, we have already planned our trip to Italy in 2011 to learn from the solar industry in that country. Perhaps the most important lesson I learned in Japan is the importance of the cooperation and coordination – not just among different stakeholders here in the United States but also among different countries. We have a lot to learn from each other. The information and views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of RenewableEnergyWorld.com or the companies that advertise on its Web site and other publications. To subscribe or visit go to: http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com |