Japan's Cabinet recently approved a series of amendments
(the "Amendments") to the Act on Special Measures
Concerning the Procurement of Renewable Energy by Operators of
Electric Utilities (the "Act"),1 which, when
approved and implemented, are likely to have a significant effect
on the feasibility and profitability of current and future
renewable energy projects. The impacts on developers will include:
(i)increasing pressure to conclude interconnection agreements with
utility companies as quickly as possible to obtain facility
certification by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry
("METI") and to secure a favorable purchase price;
(ii)requiring detailed and comprehensive plans for project
development at the time of facility certification, with
disincentives for amending such plans after a project has been
certified; and (iii)requiring developers of ongoing projects to
review existing agreements with utility companies to ensure
compliance with the Amendments.
This Commentary provides a summary of the Amendments,
particularly as they affect current and future solar projects in
Japan.
Background
Almost four years have passed since the implementation of the
feed-in tariff system promoting renewable energy in Japan, which
was created by the Act. At the same time, the energy market in
Japan has been undergoing structural reform aimed at greater
liberalization and increased competition, while simultaneously
securing the stable supply of electricity in Japan through the
implementation of a series of amendments to the Electricity
Business Act.2 In July 2015, the Japanese government
confirmed that renewable energy must constitute a significant part
of Japan's long-term energy plan, with the goal of 22–24
percent of Japan's energy sources in 2030 being renewable
energy. To promote this objective, while also addressing concerns
about costs passed onto the public and solar projects that fail to
commence operation, the Cabinet approved the Amendments on February
9, 2016, for submission for approval by the 190th ordinary Diet
session. If approved, the Amendments are expected to become
effective on April 1, 2017 (except for certain provisions relating
to tax exemption that are expected to become effective on October
1, 2016) and will result in significant changes to Japan's
feed-in tariff system.
The Amendments have three general purposes: (i)to promote the
Japanese government's goal of increasing renewable energy's
share of Japan's energy sources, from 12.2 percent3
in fiscal year 2014 to 22–24 percent in fiscal year 2030;
(ii)to reduce the cost of electric power, including the costs
associated with renewable energy that are passed onto consumers;
and (iii)to achieve the effective distribution of electric power in
Japan in accordance with the amendments to the Electricity Business
Act. To further these objectives, the Amendments introduce a new
facility certification system and measures to ensure effective
implementation of renewable energy projects. Existing projects that
have obtained facility certification under the Act prior to the
effective date of the Amendments will also be required to obtain
certification under the new system, subject to a transitional
period for projects that have completed interconnection. How the
new facility certification requirement will affect such existing
projects, however, remains unclear. The detailed implementation
ordinance or guidelines for the Amendments are likely to be issued
once the Amendments pass the Diet.
Current Facility Certification System
For a renewable energy project to qualify for the purchase price
and purchase period that METI sets for each fiscal year under the
Act: (i)the power generating facility must have been approved by
METI as a "certified facility," and a power utility must
have received a written request for interconnection from the owner
of such facility; and (ii)the date of such certification or request
(whichever is later) must fall between April 1 and March 31 of such
fiscal year. The purchase price established by METI generally is
intended to reflect the costs of developing a renewable energy
project. As these costs generally have declined with respect to
solar projects, the purchase price established by METI for each
fiscal year also has been declining.
In January 2015, METI revised the certification criteria for solar
projects seeking facility certification after April 1, 2015 and
announced that the applicable purchase price and purchase period
will be determined at the time the project company enters into the
interconnection agreement with the relevant utility (and not at the
time of application for interconnection). METI also amended the
applicable rules to provide that if, after February 15, 2015, there
are any changes in the power-generating capacity or in the basic
specifications of the solar cell modules (such as the manufacturer
or conversion rate) to be used in solar projects having received
METI facility certification, the applicable purchase price and
purchase period will be changed to those in effect during the
fiscal year in which the project company submits the application
for such changes. If there is an increase in the power output of an
operational facility, the project company must obtain a new
facility certification from METI for that part of the facility
generating the increased output, and the purchase price and
purchase period in effect during the fiscal year in which METI
issues such new facility certification will apply to such increased
output. The revised standards are intended to remedy situations
where developers obtained METI facility certification to ensure a
favorable purchase price but failed to proceed promptly with
project development and operation. Because utilities generally must
accept requests for interconnection by developers, undeveloped
solar projects have limited access by new developers to the grid
system and restricted the use of power generated through renewable
energy sources.
New Facility Certification System
Renewable energy projects seeking METI facility certification after April 1, 2017 will be subject to a new certification system. Before issuing facility certification for a project, METI will confirm the feasibility of the project. The standards for METI's confirmation of feasibility remain unclear; however, when a developer applies for METI facility certification and provides the required information, METI is expected to issue facility certification only if the project plan can be implemented smoothly and with certainty (for example, by confirming the interconnection arrangement for the project). Under this new system, information relating to certified projects will be made publicly available, and METI will have the authority to issue improvement orders or cancel the facility certification for projects that METI deems not in compliance with the project plan or not implemented as originally scheduled. These measures are intended to ensure that certified projects have a high likelihood of timely development and operation pursuant to a reasonable project plan. In addition, METI intends to ensure that the development of such projects will comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements, particularly with respect to safety and environment, and METI will penalize any developer that fails to adhere to such requirements.
Determination of Purchase Price
Pursuant to the Amendments, METI will announce mid- to long-term
targets for the applicable purchase price for certain categories of
renewable energy sources deemed to require significant lead time
for development and operation, such as wind, geothermal, mid- to
small-scale hydro, and biomass. The purchase price for large-scale
solar projects will continue to be set annually. METI expects that
the purchase price targets will ensure a certain level of
predictability for projects that require a lengthy period for
approval, construction, and interconnection, thereby encouraging
developers to proceed with such projects.
The Amendments also will introduce a bidding system for projects
designed to reduce the applicable purchase price by promoting
competition among power suppliers. This system is modeled after a
system adopted by Germany with respect to its solar projects.
Initially, METI is expected to apply this bidding system, under
which applicants for facility certification essentially bid for the
lowest purchase price, to business-purpose large-scale solar
projects. Under the Amendments, METI also may decide to apply the
bidding system to other types of renewable energy projects. METI
will determine the renewable energy source and the project size to
which the bidding system will apply, and it will provide guidelines
for its implementation, taking into account input from METI's
Purchase Price Calculation Committee. In such guidelines, METI is
expected to provide details necessary for the implementation of the
bidding system, such as the applicable renewable energy source,
power output capacity of the power-generating facility, standards
for the participants in the bidding, the method to determine the
purchase price based on bidding, the deadline for the successful
bidder to apply for METI facility certification, and the purchase
period to be applied. The participants in the bidding will submit
their project plans to METI, and the plans also will be used for
application for METI facility certification.
Purchaser of Renewable Energy
Consistent with the amendments to the Electricity Business Act, which, among other things, require regional utilities to separate their electricity distribution and transmission business from their generation and retail businesses, the Amendments will specify that the purchasers of power generated by a certified renewable energy project will be distribution and transmission companies. This change will require amending existing power purchase agreements with utilities, which will designate their distribution and transmission companies that will act as the purchaser thereunder.
Conclusion
The Amendments, when approved and implemented, are likely to
have a significant effect on the feasibility and profitability of
current and future renewable energy projects. Developers will be
under increased pressure to conclude interconnection agreements
with utility companies as quickly as possible to obtain METI
facility certification and to secure a favorable purchase price.
Developers also will be required to provide detailed and
comprehensive plans for project development at the time of facility
certification, and they will have a disincentive for amending such
plans after a project has been certified. Developers of ongoing
projects will need to review existing agreements with utility
companies to ensure compliance with the Amendments. As details of
the implementation of the Amendments are reviewed and addressed by
various committees of METI in the next several months, developers
of ongoing and future renewable energy projects in Japan carefully
should consider the effects of the Amendments on such
projects.
Footnotes
1 "Japan Launches the Feed-in Tariff System for
Renewable Energy," Jones Day Commentary, July
2012; "Renewable Energy in Japan: One Year After the
Implementation of the Feed-in Tariff Law," Jones Day
Commentary, August 2013.
2 "Japan Approves Final Set of Power Market
Reforms," Jones Day Commentary, August
2015.
3 Excluding hydropower, this percentage is 3.2
percent.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.