日本太阳能产业直追中国

    硬件来源也发生了巨大改变，日本国内太阳能电池板的销售已超过了廉价的进口品。日本拥有实力很强的太阳能电池板制造行业，IHS预计，夏普（Sharp）、京瓷（Kyocera）、三洋（Sanyo）和三菱电机（Mitsubishi Electric）等大牌企业将享受到新能源政策和自身对太阳能业务的重视所带来的好处。

    这几家业务都陷入困顿的公司正在凭借自身技术优势，努力提升日本造太阳能电池板的质量，同时保持低价。这么做使得太阳能成为日本电子行业少有的几个亮点之一。夏普最近推出了一款新型太阳能电池板。它宣称，这种电池板不仅硅用量仅为常规产品的1%，而且薄透程度足以替代窗户。

    其他厂商则着重电能转换效率。为了使得太阳能发电的大规模应用能够在经济上可承受，研究人员长期以来一直试图开发一种低成本的太阳能电池，兼具高效能、易制造和高产出等特点。硅晶太阳能电池将太阳光转变为电能的换能效率通常在21%左右。

    据松下公司（Panasonic）称，它开发的一款太阳能电池板原型已经成功实现24.7%的换能效率，为世界最高水平。目前，这个换能效率已获得日本产业技术综合研究所（National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology）的测试认证。

    “太阳能行业的繁荣还能持续多久还很难讲，但随着土地资源用尽，这一趋势将会放缓，”久司保志说。“当然，还有屋顶可以进行利用开发。移动运营商软银（Softbank）就在这样做，租赁屋顶开发太阳能，这是一种非常聪明和有意思的商业模式。或许，这次不会再像以前那些试图解除对日本电力行业管制的努力，这一次应该会成功。”（财富中文网）

    The provenance of the hardware has also seen a sea change with domestic panels now outselling cheap imports. Japan has a strong solar panel manufacturing industry and companies like Sharp, Kyocera, Sanyo, and Mitsubishi Electric would benefit from the new energy polices and emphasis on solar power, according to IHS.

    Those same failing companies are now banking on a technological edge to push the quality up of made-in-Japan solar panels while keeping prices down. Doing so could make solar one the few bright points of the Japanese electronics industry. Sharp recently unveiled new solar panels that it claims not only use just 1% of the expensive silicon used in conventional models but are thin enough and clear enough to replace windows.

    Others are focusing on efficiency. To make solar electricity affordable on a large scale, researchers have long been trying to develop a low-cost solar cell, which is both highly efficient and easy to manufacture with high output -- silicon-based solar cells typically have an efficiency of around 21% for converting sunlight into electricity.

    According to Panasonic its prototype solar cell has achieved the world's highest conversion efficiency at 24.7%, verified by tests performed at Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.

    "How long the boom in solar can last in Japan is hard to tell, but as land runs out, there will be slowdown," says Hoshi. "Of course there are still the rooftops to exploit as mobile carrier Softbank is doing. It's renting rooftops for solar -- a very smart and interesting business model. Perhaps, unlike previous attempts to deregulate Japan's electric utility industry, this should be a success."