Renewable energy surcharge reduced to less than half, 12 yen/kWh newly established for “FIT/rooftop installation”
Monthly levy burden for general households has been significantly reduced from 1,380 yen to 560 yen.
Changes in renewable energy levies
(Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry)
On March 24th, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced the purchase price from fiscal 2023 onwards related to the feed-in tariff (FIT) and feed-in premium (FIP) systems, as well as the surcharge that will be added to the electricity bill. From the second half of FY2023, the purchase price will be set at 12 yen/kWh by newly establishing the “roof installation” category. With regard to surcharges, due to the listing of electricity market prices, the forecast for fiscal 2023 has been reduced by more than half compared to the previous fiscal year.
Regarding the purchase price applicable to commercial solar power generation in FY2023, we will respect the opinion of the Procurement Price Calculation Committee, and for low-voltage projects of 10kW or more and less than 50kW, we will increase the price from 11 yen/kWh in FY2022 to FY2023. ・In FY2024, the price will be reduced by 1 yen to 10 yen/kWh. 50 kW or more not eligible for bidding has decreased from 10 yen/kWh in FY2022 to 9.5 yen/kWh in FY2023 and 9.2 yen/kWh in FY2024, a decrease of 0.5 yen/kWh and 0.3 yen/kWh. In addition, bidding will be held four times during the fiscal year for 50kW or more, and the maximum price will be lowered to 9.50 yen/kWh, 9.43 yen/kWh, 9.35 yen/kWh, and 9.28 yen/kWh.
Under these circumstances, from 2024, a new "rooftop installation" category will be created and set at 12 yen/kWh, raising the price by 2 to 2.5 yen compared to FY2022. This price will be applied from the second half of fiscal 2023 to prevent delays in project development. This is the first time that the purchase price has been raised since the FIT system began. The background is to promote the installation of roofs, which have a relatively low impact on the local environment, amid the demand for renewable energy that can coexist with the local community.
However, even though electricity can be sold at 12 yen/kWh under the FIT, considering the level of electricity charges, self-consumption remains the most economical roof-mounted solar system. As for the surplus, there are contracts exceeding 12 yen/kWh for self-consignment or off-site PPA (Power Purchase Agreement), but the simple system without the need for bilateral contracts and no risk of imbalance is preferred. , there are likely to be cases where FIT is selected.
On the other hand, the levy is used as a source of funds when purchasing renewable energy electricity under the FIT and FIP systems, and is added to the electricity bill. The unit price of the renewable energy levy had consistently increased until FY2022 as the amount of renewable energy introduced increased, but decreased for the first time in FY2023. From 3.45 yen/kWh in FY2022 to 1.40 yen/kWh in FY2023, the price dropped by 2.05 yen at once, less than half. When converted to the burden of the consumer model, the monthly charge of 1,380 yen and annual charge of 16,560 yen is reduced to 560 yen and annual charge of 6,720 yen, a reduction of 820 yen per month and 9,840 yen per year.
The surcharge has decreased significantly because the wholesale electricity market remains high, and the estimated avoidable cost of renewable electricity (electricity production costs such as thermal power reduced by purchasing renewable electricity) is 1,046,099 in FY2022. 100 million yen to 3,635.3 billion yen in fiscal 2023, a 2.4-fold increase. Renewable energy continues to increase, and purchase costs themselves are increasing, but renewable energy support resources (surcharges) after deducting avoidable costs have decreased significantly. In other words, the increase in the value of electricity means that the resources needed to support renewable energy have decreased.
Up until now, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has worked hard to curb the increase in surcharges added to electricity bills, but due to the rise in electricity market prices, surcharges have unexpectedly fallen below half.
