TOKYO: Japan’s domestic shipments of solar panels fell 21 percent in the last three months of 2015 compared with the previous year as system costs dropped amid signs of a slowdown in the nation’s solar boom.
Shipments totaled 1,765 megawatts, the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association said in a statement Tuesday. Of that, 1,058 megawatts of panels, or 60 percent, were supplied by Japanese companies, including 461 megawatts produced outside Japan.
Shipments for projects 500 kilowatts or larger dropped 32 percent, according to the association. Residential projects and projects smaller than 500 kilowatts fell 12 percent and 9 percent, respectively. Data was compiled from 42 companies, including Kyocera Corp. and Solar Frontier K.K.