Jul 27 2010
The Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA), a non-profit establishment engaged in assisting government utilities to include solar power in their power offerings, has lead a group of 18 utility executives and managers to Japan.
The group on its third annual Solar Fact Finding Mission will stay in Japan from July 25 to 30 and meet government agencies, its utility companies, and solar product manufacturing companies. The delegation will also visit various commercial solar installations and research institutions.
The group is also planning to travel all over central Japan to understand various steps taken by the Japanese government in implementing long term policies for renewable energy sources and its allied research institutions in implementing solar power production and try to create a functional affinity between the utilities that function at Japan and United States.
According to Julia Hamm, President and CEO of SEPA the trip will allow the utility decision makers in US to understand the best practices of Japan for utilizing them for solar related activities back home in USA. On return from Japan SEPA is planning to convene a media interview to present the views of the participants and also to issue a summary of its key findings during the trip.
The SEPA during the year 2008 visited Germany with a group of delegates to learn the details of policies and solar market in the country. During the year 2009, the group visited Spain to understand the photovoltaic market and solar thermal electric installations.