Japan

Power companies would be forced to develop plans on working with other bodies during natural disasters.

Bids for the fifth solar auction reached 185.6MW even with a 416MW size.

A review could be launched by end-June.

Nuclear is expected to take up only 8.4% of the power mix, well below the 20-22% target.

It also proceeded to start on two solar PV plants in the Fukuoka and Ibaraki prefectures.Canadian Solar completed the sale of Yamaguchi Shin Mine, a 56.3MWp operational solar power plant in the Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan, according to an announcement.Hana Financial Investment, a subsidiary of Hana Financial Group, acquired the solar power plant for an enterprise value of approximately $205m (JPY22.3b). The sale was originally planned to close in the fourth quarter of 2019 but was delayed due to regulatory and contractual obligations required to be met prior to closing the transaction.Yamaguchi Shin Mine reached commercial operation in May 2018 and is powered by Canadian Solar high efficiency modules. The electricity generated is being purchased by Chugoku Electric Power Company, Inc. at the rate of $0.32(JPY 36) per kWh for 20 years.Canadian Solar will continue to provide asset management as well as operational and maintenance services for the plant after the transaction. Additionally, a five-year profit sharing agreement is in place, enabling Canadian Solar to secure additional revenue after the sale should the power plant outperform agreed upon metrics.Two new solar plantsIn a separate announcement, Canadian Solar has started the construction of two solar PV power projects in Japan. The first is a 13.6MWp project in the Ibaraki Prefecture which is expected to generate approximately 15,901MWh each year. The electricity will be purchased by Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. (TEPCO) under a 20-year feed-in-tariff (FIT) contract at the rate of $0.29 (JPY32) per kWh. The company expects the project to reach commercial operation by mid-2021.The second project is a 13.0 MWp project in Fukuoka Prefecture. The plant is expected to generate approximately 15,250 MWh of solar energy each year, which will be purchased by Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. under a 20-year FIT contract at the rate of $0.33 (JPY36) per kWh. The project is also expected to reach commercial operation by mid-2021.

Ten of the largest utilities have lost 11% of their market share since full deregulation in 2016.

The rates for systems below 10kW is set to 19 cents/kWh.

A $913.70m loan deal for the project was inked with Marubeni Corporation.

But a third said cutting off coal power would harm their businesses.

It is expected to deploy 80 million smart meters by 2024.

These could help boost its total capacity by 272MW by 2028.

It eyes a 67% increase in profit with the increased investment.

770MW is in the pipeline across only four projects.

It will power 3,735 households per year.

Capital investment in nuclear sharply rose by 40%.

Costs are expected to hit $2.75b.