REC drives solar power opportunities for Japanese homes

Munich July 10, 2015

With WQ Inc. as a new member of the REC Partner Program in Japan, REC is equipped to make the most of solar opportunities in Japan’s residential segment. Visit REC at PV Japan in Tokyo – July 29-31 2015. REC, the largest European brand of solar panels, and Japanese solar distributor WQ Inc. are successfully increasing the solar footprint in Japan’s expanding residential segment. WQ Inc., a new member of the prestigious REC Partner Program, contributes its installation expertise to complement REC’s solar panel quality, making the new alliance a perfect match to leverage the promising opportunities for solar energy installations in Japanese homes.

REC and WQ Inc. will work together to certify REC Solar Professionals in order to ensure excellent quality on both the product and installation levels.

Dynamic growth as solar system costs approach grid parity

Despite a 5.5 percent cut to feed-in tariffs, the Japanese residential sector remains a dynamic market for solar energy investment. The feed-in tariff itself is in any case only one part of the investment decision. Solar’s levelized costs of electricity (LCOE) metrics, which take into account the entire lifetime costs of energy generation systems, are looking increasingly positive for solar energy, getting closer to the goal of grid parity every year. Solar energy can be generated today at around JPY 27 (USD 0.22) per kWh. With average solar system prices having dropped by approximately 50% over the last six years, solar power installations can in any case maintain project ROI at levels attractive enough to keep the market buoyant without maintaining feed-in tariffs at their previous levels.

“The impact of the decrease in feed-in tariffs was less significant for the residential segment than for utility-scale, commercial & industrial installations,” says Tadao Kasahara, Executive Chairman at REC Solar Japan. “REC therefore expects a stronger push for the residential segment and predicts residential installations will reach 1.5 GW in 2015 in Japan. With the REC Kit solution now available for residential installations also, the company is in an excellent position to satisfy demand from householders in Japan who wish to move to solar as a clean energy source.”

A new alliance to push opportunities

The new partnership with WQ Inc. is part of REC’s pledge to building the long-term alliances that are so vital for success on any local market. WQ Inc., a REC Platinum Partner and member of the REC Partner Program, is committed to bringing the first-class global quality of REC solar panels into the Japanese market. In its quest to make solar energy affordable and accessible for a wider public, WQ Inc. has completed around 400 installations with a total capacity of 31.3 MW using over 122,000 REC solar panels. Steffen Studeny, CEO at WQ Inc. says, “We are looking forward to collaborating with REC, an experienced player with a strong brand name. We trust in the high quality of REC solar panels to deliver long-term reliable performance to customers.”

Japan is a highly important market for REC, and this July REC will once more be exhibiting at the PV Japan tradeshow, the country’s largest exhibition for the solar industry in order to reinforce its presence as a major player in the country’s solar industry.

For further information please contact:

Agnieszka Schulze
Public Relations Manager, REC
Leopoldstr. 175, 80804 Munich, Germany
Phone +49 89 54 04 67 225
Email agnieszka.schulze [at] recgroup.com

About REC:

REC is the largest European brand of solar panels, with more than 15 million high-quality panels produced at the end of 2014. With integrated manufacturing from polysilicon to wafers, cells, panels and turnkey solar solutions, REC strives to help meet the world’s growing energy needs. In partnership with a sales channel of distributors, installers, and EPCs, REC panels are installed globally. Founded in 1996, REC is a Bluestar Elkem company with headquarters in Norway and operational headquarters in Singapore. REC’s 1,800 employees worldwide generated revenues of USD 680 million in 2014.