14 DAY TRIAL // A global trend encourages countries to turn their attention from fossil fuels and seek to develop and implement alternative options, relying on clean, green power.
China, known as the world's biggest polluter, and the USA appear to be two of the most eco-conscious countries, worried about their alarming carbon footprint. Nonetheless, Japan is also making progress in greening up its name.
SunEdison, the solar development unit of MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (WFR) has recently revealed its plan to build a series of costly, yet efficient solar power plants in Japan, apparently worth 350 billion yen ($4.6 billion/€3.6billion ).
The plants will have a total capacity of 1 gigawatt, according to its developers, and will be completed within the next five years. The entire project is so far wrapped in uncertainty, as the exact market rates for solar and wind power are still unknown. The project is put on hold for now, until Japan's incentive program starting in July will reveal the prices.
“We can’t start building plants until rates are set, as we can’t calculate project costs,” affirmed Jackie Okawa, a spokesperson from SunEdison Japan Corp, for Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
A bill approved in August reveals Japan's commitment towards the development of renewable resources, as an efficient path to respond to the energy demand while shifting away from nuclear power, cataloged as risky and less reliable after the Fukushima disaster.
So far, Japan managed to grow the popularity of alternative sources of power by adding 3.6 gigawatts of solar power in 2010, of which 80% is used to supply households.
After the Japanese government will reveal the rates, developers will be able to carry on with their ambitious plan. If prices were to be evaluated at 32 yen a kilowatt-hour, the investment would be considered profitable in the long term.