LDP drafts proposal to end aid for mega solar projects
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Monday (December 15) compiled a draft proposal calling for an end to government support for large-scale solar power plants, in light of growing concerns over environmental damage and landscape degradation.
- Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has drafted a proposal to end government support for new large-scale solar power projects starting in fiscal year 2027.
- The party believes the current support system for mega solar plants has fulfilled its purpose and is signaling a policy shift.
- The proposal seeks to redirect aid to smaller installations that coexist with communities, such as rooftop panels, and to next-generation solar technologies.
- The draft also calls for expanding the scope of mandatory environmental impact assessments for solar projects.
The draft proposal, adopted at a joint meeting of related LDP divisions, urges the government to exclude new solar plant operators from the support system starting in fiscal 2027.
The move will signal a shift away from the policy of promoting solar power, which has been in place since the March 2011 massive earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku northeastern region.
At the party meeting, LDP policy chief Takayuki Kobayashi suggested that the support system for solar plant operators has fulfilled its role.
Based on the LDP proposal, the government will consider the matter at a meeting of relevant ministers.
Instead of large-scale solar plants, the draft proposal calls for prioritising support for solar panel installations that can coexist with local communities, such as rooftop installations, as well as next-generation solar cells, including thin, flexible perovskite solar cells.
The draft proposal also seeks to expand the scope of mandatory environmental impact assessments before projects begin.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
