Insights & Analysis
A straight-to-the-point monthly summary of important regulatory discussions and changes in Japan's power market.
In the May 2026 issue:
- Summary of METI, OCCTO, and other committee meetings
- Proposed revised thresholds for solar project EIA
- Revised capacity market withdrawal penalty system proposal
- Kyushu renewable curtailment system revision
- METI power business license and registration changes
- Nuclear power plant operational status updates
- ...and more
The next issue will be released on July 15, 2026.
Enehub Charts of the Week
All 14 projects totaling about 651MW that bid in the FY2025 onshore wind auction were awarded, securing an average FIP price of 11.96 yen per kWh. That said, the total came in considerably lower than the 900MW OCCTO sought and about 80% of the capacity appears to be re-awards to projects that won previous rounds but did not complete their certifications.
At today’s System Review Working Group meeting, METI presented a potential plan to unify balancing market bid caps for all products, lowering the maximum 30-minute price for Primary, Secondary-1, and Composite from 19.51 yen/ΔkW to 7.21 yen/ΔkW. If implemented, the change would significantly affect potential BESS revenues, particularly in the Primary offline segment, which has consistently been contracting near the existing cap.
The rolling 365-day wind generation recently exceeded 5TWh in Tohoku and 3TWh in Hokkaido, with the latter’s significantly exceeding the total for the remaining seven mainland TSO areas. With wind project development’s continued focus on the two northernmost areas, the trend is likely to continue.
