Overview
- The Environment Ministry on Wednesday said it will abolish purchase subsidies for conventional silicon solar panels in new programs starting fiscal 2027 while keeping construction support and existing project funding in place.
- The ministry plans to reallocate money to next‑generation perovskite solar cells and has proposed roughly ¥28 billion in the FY2027 budget request to support demonstration, supply chains and local deployment for that technology.
- Officials justify the change by noting global silicon panel prices have fallen sharply and more than 80% of conventional panels on the market are supplied by Chinese manufacturers, which limits domestic industrial benefit from purchase subsidies.
- Experts warn the shift could slow near‑term rollout of ready‑to‑deploy conventional solar because perovskite still faces unanswered questions on long‑term stability, supply chains and costs while it matures toward commercial use.
- The move also responds to recurring conflicts over large 'mega' solar sites and aims to promote smaller, regionally compatible projects that reduce environmental and disaster risks and favor local coexistence models.