US renewable energy firm Greenpower Capital and Wirsol Solar, an international PV developer based in Germany, have established a joint venture which focuses on financing and building solar projects in Japan which have a capacity of 10MW or more.
The venture will draw upon GreenPower’s development and funding experience as well as Wirsol’s EPC and financing experience to build an extensive pipeline of 10MW-plus projects in Japan.
It also provides Japanese developers with an opportunity to co-develop large-scale projects without having to obtain construction financing. The venture will provide 100% non-recourse construction financing for the projects and, therefore, eliminate the need to seek funds from banks.
The joint vetnure is also evaluating the option of partnering with equipment suppliers so that when it develops a project it will recommend its partner suppliers.
In a statement sent to PV-Tech, a spokesperson from Wirsol explained why Japanese was such an attractive market. "Its reliable national economy makes Japan a highly trusted and bankable country which strongly resembles Germany in its radical commitment to a renewable energy transition. While the Japanese feed-in-tariff is among the highest worldwide, our vast experience can contribute a great deal to this development. Being more than 10 years ahead of this market naturally means great business opportunities for our company."
Since the Japanese government launched its feed-in tariff in July, the country has experienced a surge in PV investment. Indeed, it has been estimated that Japan’s renewable subsidies have led to more than US$2 billion in investments.
