Renewables MMI®: Japan’s Solar Energy Expansion is in Doubt

Solar use in Japan has exploded over the last two years due to an ambitious national effort to promote renewable energy. But now Japan’s solar energy expansion in doubt.

FREE Download: The Monthly MMI® Report – covering the Renewable Energy metals market.

Utilities say their infrastructure cannot handle the swelling army of solar entrepreneurs intent on selling their power. And their willingness to invest more money depends heavily on whether the government remains committed to clean energy.

“It’s upsetting,” Junji Akagi, a real estate developer on Ukushima, a tiny island near Nagasaki, told the New York Times. Mr. Akagi said he hoped to turn a quarter of the island’s 10-square-mile area into a “mega-solar” generating station, and has already lined up investors and secured the necessary land.

After falling 2.3%, US steel plate landed at $693.00 per short ton and making it the week’s biggest mover on the weekly Renewables MMI®. Korean steel plate fell 1.9% over the past week to KRW 530,000 ($482.17) per metric ton. Japanese steel plate remained essentially flat from the previous week at JPY 80,000 ($665.46) per metric ton.

* Get the complete prices every day on the MetalMiner IndX℠

Chinese renewables prices were mixed for the week. In the past week, Chinese steel plate saw its price shift up 1.5% to CNY 2,700 ($430.20) per metric ton. Prices for Chinese cobalt cathodes remained constant, closing the week at CNY 224,000 ($35,691) per metric ton. At CNY 15,000 ($2,390) per metric ton, the week finished with no movement for silicon. At CNY 395,000 ($62,937) per metric ton, the price of neodymium did not change since the previous week.

US grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) saw little change in its price on Tuesday at $2,558 per metric ton.

[download-button url=”https://agmetalminer.com/monthly-report-metal-price-index-trends-february-2015/”] Download MetalMiner’s Latest Metal Price Trends Report[/download-button]

The Renewables MMI® collects and weights 8 metal price points used extensively within the renewable energy industry to provide a unique view into renewable energy metal price trends. For more information on the Renewables MMI®, how it’s calculated or how your company can use the index, please drop us a note at: info (at) agmetalminer (dot) com.