Japanese quarterly solar PV module demand falls slightly as imports exceed domestic supply

16 September 2013

Japanese solar photovoltaic (PV) module demand fell 5% sequentially to 1.65 GW in the nation's most recent financial quarter, according to statistics released by the Japanese Photovoltaic Energy Association (JPEA).
Demand in the first quarter of Japan's fiscal year 2013, which ended on June 30th, 2013, was still more than three times as high as a year prior. Additionally, PV module imports totaled 925 MW, outpacing domestic production for the first time to meet 56% of demand.
Japanese demand totals 3.38 GW in the first six months of international calendar year 2013, more than either Germany or the United States and making the nation the world's second-largest PV market after China.

Thin-film demand falls 39% sequentially
A significant change this quarter is a 39% sequential fall in domestic thin-film PV demand to 182 MW, after peaking at 299 MW in the previous quarter. As domestic production represented more than 99% of thin-film PV supply, this indicates changing fortunes for copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) PV maker Solar Frontier KK (Tokyo).
Another change is the near-absence of exports, which dried up to almost 10.0 MW, including 3.3 MW of thin-film PV.

Utility-scale demand expands 15x y/o/y to 452 MW
Japan's residential PV sector was the largest source of demand during the quarter at 572 MW. Utility-scale projects represented another 452 MW, with commercial and industrial coming in at 399 MW.
Another 223 MW of PV demand was classified as “other” in the non-residential grouping. While residential PV installations have increased over previous quarters, utility-scale demand is 15 times as high as a year prior.