Abstract
Photovoltaic (PV) has the highest cost reduction potential among all renewable energy sources (RES). To overcome institutional barriers, developing the technology, and creating an initial market, policies are needed. Comparative case studies of Japan and German PV sector from 1990 to 2011 were developed. Japan dominated the PV industry during 1994–2004, PV market increased to 290MW in 2005. After 2005 Japan׳s PV market decreased. German PV market increased from 44MW in 2000 to 7.5GW in 2011. The reason behind Japanese PV market decline was the unaligned energy policy and termination of incentives. This paper discusses about successful policy implementation and the impact of policy for the diffusion of PV technology. The analysis section of this paper shows how much the PV technology has been diffused during the period of 1990–2011 and finally what will make the transformation process successful.
•We studied PV diffusion of Japan and German considering public energy policy, environmental policy and cost reduction.•This study determined that policy and incentives are responsible for cost reduction.•Japans concentration on nuclear energy more than renewables, made the PV diffusion slow.•Successful implementation of FIT helped Germany reduce PV electricity price more than grid electricity.