On Oct. 1, Kyushu Electric Power Co. held sessions at six venues throughout Kyushu to explain its decision to end renewable energy buybacks. With more than 4,800 in attendance, the sessions were packed beyond capacity. Emotions ran high as several participants said Kyuden’s decision would adversely affect their ability to pay back loans for solar panels they had installed or were installing on their homes. A pharmacy owner from Oita Prefecture who invested more than ¥100 million to install solar panels to Kyuden’s specifications said he felt as if “the ladder has been pulled out from under [him]”. The company’s decision to suspend new contracts applies to home power generation systems with an output of 10kW or higher. At the sessions, Kyuden officials repeated the company line that increases in solar power within the system risked destabilizing the power supply. Despite several hands going up for questions, the officials cut off the sessions by saying that “time was up.” A manager of one Nagasaki business expressed his extreme displeasure with how the sessions were run by saying, “Some companies are going to go under!” Source: Nishinippon Shimbun 10/1
