The global energy market witnessed increased energy prices in recent years and several governments have been lagging in their climate targets in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. The governments in the region are looking at ways to meet their climate goals through alternative strategies. Rooftop PV targets are key on government agendas to meet their renewable targets, which bypasses the challenge of acquiring large land spaces for utility-scale solar projects. In addition, another key trend witnessed in the region is the reignited interest in nuclear power, observes GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s latest report, “Asia Pacific Renewable Energy Policy Handbook 2024,” reveals that the Russian invasion of Ukraine led to increased energy prices in Japan, forcing the country to make changes to its nuclear policy after remaining reluctant to restart its nuclear power plants following the Fukushima disaster. The Japanese government felt the need to introduce a policy to ensure a stable energy supply while still focusing on its goal of achieving decarbonized society.

Attaurrahman Ojindaram Saibasan, Power Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “In February 2023, the Japanese government launched the New Basic Energy Plan until 2030, making significant changes to the country’s previous nuclear policy and revealing intentions to restart suspended nuclear power plants. Similarly, in South Korea, the government placed tremendous focus on nuclear power in its tenth basic plan 2024-2038 wherein the country aims to increase nuclear power share to 32.4% in its generation mix.

Though China has reduced incentivized support for renewables, it has been able to boost its renewable capacity, especially through solar installations. In 2021, the National Energy Administration (NEA) of China announced that it would make the use of solar PV on residential as well as commercial rooftops mandatory. The mandate required that 20% of every residential rooftop, 30% of every commercial rooftop, 40% of every non-government public building, and 50% of every government building should be covered with solar PV modules by the end of 2023.

India is also quick to adapt to the trend of growing rooftop solar installations. In January 2024, the Indian government launched Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana (PMSY) scheme, which targets to provide rooftop solar (RTS) power systems to ten million households.

Saibasan concludes: “After disappointing renewable progress in India, the introduction of the PMSY scheme is expected to boost rooftop solar PV installations. The country can achieve similar success as China if the implementation is done in a robust manner. The PMSY scheme aims to help households ranging from poor to middle-income groups to get 300 units of free monthly solar electricity. With the rise in electricity prices, this is expected to encourage the adoption of rooftop solar PV systems at a rapid pace.”