Making Renewables Work: Operational Practices and Future Challenges for Renewable Energy as a Major Power Source in Japan

Japan has been experiencing a rapid deployment of photovoltaics (PVs) since the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) Scheme for Renewable Energy was launched in July 2012 . The increasing penetration levels of variable renewable generation, especially PVs and wind, have been affecting power system operations in each of Japan's 10 balancing areas. To accommodate this rapid growth in variable generation, the government established the Working Group on Grid Connection of Renewable Energy in 2014 to continually discuss and make timely decisions about these operational issues, including capacity connections, operation enhancement and asset improvement in each balancing area, and inevitable curtailment procedures for renewable generation.