Japan's Green Investment Promotion Organization has released the final results of its latest auction for utility-scale solar energy projects.

The state-run agency said that 134 MW of PV projects were selected in the procurement exercise. It was Japan's nineteenth auction for utility-scale solar and was expected to assign 349.3 MW of generating capacity.

The 29 selected projects range in size from 550 kW to 29.9 MW.

The lowest bid was JPY 0.0/kWh, the highest was JPY 6.98 /kWh, and the average final price was JPY 5.11 ($0.034)/kWh. The ceiling price was set at JPY 9.28/kWh.

A bid of JPY 0.00/kWh was submitted for a 19 MW PV project submitted by Japanese developer FS Japan Project 41. According to local reports, the project has already secured a private power purchase agreement for the sale of electricity and participated in the auction to secure a grid connection.

The lowest bid was the reason behind the surprisingly low average price of JPY 5.11/kWh of the auction. In the last five auctions, the final average price ranged from JPY 8.55/kWh to JPY 9.73/kWh.

In the 18th auction, finalized in November 2023, the Japanese authorities allocated 105 MW of PV capacity, with the lowest bid reaching JPY 7.94/kWh.  In the 17th exercise, held in late August 2023, the lowest price came in at JPY 8.95/kWh, with 69 MW of allocated capacity.

In the 16th auction held in July 2023, the allocated power was 119.7 MW and the lowest bid came in at JPY 9/kWh. In the 15th solar energy auction, which concluded in March 2023, the Green Investment Promotion Organization only allocated 16.2 MW of the 175 MW tendered. The lowest bid offered in the auction was JPY 9.48/kWh and the average final price was JPY 9.56.

In the 14th exercise, held in November 2022, the Japanese authorities assigned 137.2 MW of PV capacity, out of 175 MW tendered. The lowest bid came in at JPY 9.65/kWh and the average final price was JPY 9.73/kWh.

In the 12th procurement exercise, which was finalized in June 2022, the assigned PV capacity was 153.7 MW. The lowest bid came in at JPY 8.85/kWh. In the 11th auction, held in March 2022, the assigned PV capacity was 268.7 MW and the lowest bid was JPY 8.99/kWh.

In 2021, the Japanese government allocated 675 MW of PV capacity across three different auctions. In previous auctions, it allocated 942 MW.