Originally published April 17, 2018
(Passages between asterisks were newly inserted in this version.)
This chapter is a continuation of the previous post.
Beneath what seems to be a contradictory statement lies Masayoshi Son’s shrewd business strategy.
Kazuki Fujisawa, a financial trader known for his commentary on energy policy and who has a substantial following online, wrote the following in a related article:
“SoftBank has started moving its energy-intensive data servers to South Korea. From this, we can glimpse Son’s true intentions.
By halting nuclear power, Japan’s electricity costs will inevitably rise. Son lobbied Prime Minister Kan to push through the full buyback scheme for solar energy, which will drive electricity prices even higher.
Meanwhile, he shifts his operations to South Korea where electricity is cheaper, buying cheap power there while reaping subsidies for renewable energy in Japan.
It’s a very clever strategy.”
*Buying cheap electricity in South Korea while extracting renewable energy subsidies in Japan—a very clever strategy, he says. But not a single sound-minded Japanese citizen, save perhaps this commentator, would ever consider such behavior "clever." It is precisely the opposite.*
Solar Power Business and South Korean Firms
When SoftBank launched its solar energy projects, it purchased large quantities of solar panels from South Korea.
On the 3rd [of the reported month], Hanwha SolarOne, the solar division of the South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group, announced that it had been selected by SB Energy, SoftBank’s renewable energy subsidiary, as its solar module supplier.
SB Energy will receive 5,600 kilowatts’ worth of solar modules for two power plants under construction in Tokushima Prefecture.
These plants, located at the Tokushima Airport industrial zone and Komatsushima Port’s Akaishi district, are each planned to have a capacity of 2,800 kilowatts and are scheduled to be operational by July.
If these projects are part of the post-disaster recovery effort, the equipment should have been sourced from domestic companies.
But when the contracts go to South Korean firms, the expected economic benefit to Japan’s domestic industries is significantly diminished.
And not just SoftBank—Japan’s broader push for renewable energy has largely ended up benefiting South Korean companies.
At the time, Japan’s feed-in tariff rate was considered exceptionally generous by global standards, which in turn spurred a wave of South Korean investment into Japan’s solar sector.
*As readers will recall, I predicted from the start that Son would never purchase solar panels from Japanese manufacturers. I said he would likely source them from China or South Korea—and once again, my prediction proved 100% accurate.*
To be continued.
