Aljazeera English / News / Iwate, Rikuzentakata

Pandabonium- I haven’t heard of a fixed rate for charges, only that the geevrnmont has guaranteed that all electrical companies must pay twice the rate that electricity is currently bought for when you sell excess solar power to the grid (until at least 2020). It is a great bargain for people who have solar PVs on their roofs and it makes paying off a system much faster than other countries and than 5 years ago. When we bought our 3kwh system 3 years ago, it was 2 million yen and the rate we got for excess solar was the same as what we bought it for. As of last year that rate has changed to twice what is paid for electricity: 42yen per kilowhat and we are getting back twice as much as we pay each month. Solar PV systems have also decreased to near half of what we paid 3 years ago! Before solar we paid 40,000 yen on average month for gas and electricity, when we first started solar our bills were about even for what we paid and got back. But now with the higher FIT (feed in tariff) from the electrical companies, we pay the electric company 5,000 yen or less each month and get back 10,000 yen or more each month (even in rainy months).So, I think the rate of electricity is likely to increase, but the FIT is still quite generous and even if your bills are even - what you pay and get back- you are still much better off financially than you are without solar panels. After 7-8 years, when your panels are paid for- it is pure profit (and panels have a life upwards of 40 years) Don’t really see a down-side of investing in solar in Japan.