Japanese telecoms company to install solar panels on private homes

• 11 years ago (2012-12-13)
• Junior Isles

Asia 892 North America 1021 Renewables 776

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Tokyo based Softbank Corp., one of Japan’s largest mobile-phone carriers, has plans to install solar panels on the rooftops of 1000 homes across the country, allowing it to increase its access to Japan’s clean energy feed-in-tariff.

Softbank will use solar PV systems supplied by Sharp Corp. and Suntech Power Japan Corp. to generate the energy it will sell on to utilities, it said in a statement.

Softbank intends to pay around 15 per cent of its earnings from the solar panels to compensate home owners for the rooftop space, with the additional bonus that they keep the panels when the 20 year contract expires, according to Softbank official Fumihide Tomizawa.

Once installed, the panels on the 1000 homes would have roughly 4 MW in total capacity, according to Tomizawa.

Softbank will begin taking applications from home owners in 31 prefectures on December 21.

Japan started its feed-in-tariff scheme in July, requiring utilities to pay above-market rates for energy produced by renewable sources, with consumers covering the additional costs through surcharges.

The current solar tariff for this fiscal year is 42 yen (51 cents) per kWh.