Follow India Renewable Energy News on WhatsApp for exclusive updates on clean energy news and insights

Japan’s 24th Utility-Scale Solar Auction Allocates 79 MW at Record-Low Prices

Japan's Green Investment Promotion Organization has announced the results of its 24th auction for utility-scale solar projects, awarding 79 MW of capacity across 59 projects. Although the auction had aimed to allocate 157.8 MW, only half the expected capacity was assigned. The selected projects range in size from 300 kW to 19.5 MW.

Remarkably, around 40 projects with capacities between 300 kW and 2 MW submitted a bid of JPY 0.00/kWh, likely indicating they already have private power purchase agreements (PPAs) in place and entered the auction to secure grid access. The highest accepted bid was JPY 7.79/kWh for a 2.6 MW project. The average clearing price dropped to JPY 4.06 /kWh—marking a continued downward trend.

This is the lowest average in recent years, with the past nine auctions averaging between JPY 4.47 and JPY 9.73/kWh. In comparison, the 23rd auction awarded 93 MW at JPY 5.06/kWh on average, and the 22nd awarded 56.4 MW at JPY 8.17/kWh.

Japan’s aggressive solar auction strategy reflects its ongoing push for cost-effective renewable energy deployment amid rising competition and maturing solar market dynamics.