Japan’s Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE) has set Dec. 11 as the deadline for new and amended FIT and FIP certification applications for solar of 10 kW and above, wind, hydro, and geothermal projects seeking approval in fiscal 2026, which ends March 31, 2027.

The agency said that, following a review by the Procurement Price Calculation Committee in fiscal 2025, ground-mounted solar of 10 kW and above will be excluded from FIT and FIP support from fiscal 2027, making this the final year for new certification in the category.

Applicants must submit grid-connection agreement documents with their applications, and projects without a connection agreement by the deadline cannot be certified this fiscal year. The agency noted that utilities take a standard eight to nine months to respond to connection studies and contract applications for high-voltage and extra-high-voltage connections.

Projects subject to environmental impact assessment can apply without proof that the scoping procedure has begun, provided they consult their regional economy bureau first and submit that proof by Jan. 29, 2027. Changes to the operator name, equipment category, output, or site after an application is filed require withdrawal and reapplication, subject to the same deadline.

Applications to move existing FIT projects to FIP are not bound by the deadline, and projects in FIP auctions, which cover solar of 250 kW and above, follow the auction schedule instead.

The deadline for solar below 10 kW is Jan. 5, 2027, and for biomass Nov. 27. The Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association (JPEA) published the notice on Nov. 9, saying it expects more applications than usual because this is the category’s final year.

Japan signaled in December 2025 that it could end FIT and FIP support for large ground-mounted solar. The agency has since proposed four categories of non-rooftop solar that would keep priority support, including solar on government-owned land and solar carports, with rules due to take effect April 1, 2027.

Larger ground-mounted projects compete for FIP support through auctions. Japan’s 29th solar auction, the second round of fiscal 2026, allocated 38.2 MW against an auction volume of 115 MW and a ceiling price of JPY 9.60 ($0.06)/kWh. The previous round allocated 89.2 MW at an average final price of JPY 6.74/kWh.