REC Corp., a global supplier of solar panels, is launching its Partner Program in Japan, which has become one of the key markets for the company.
In taking the Partner Program into Japan, REC is building on the program’s success in Europe, where the company has enrolled a line-up of partners who are all strong players in their field of business. With REC expecting to ship around a quarter of its solar panels to Japan in 2014, building a network of strong partnerships in this country demonstrates REC’s commitment to the great potential of the Japanese solar market, despite the recent 11% cut in feed-in tariffs.
The REC Partner Program promotes long-term alliances that are so vital in the fast-changing markets of the solar energy industry. Only a select few partners are accepted for each country, meaning that new distributors profit from a strong competitive advantage.
Partners are included in the REC Partner Locator, giving them added visibility to installers looking for a provider in their region. With a view to strengthening relationships along the entire value chain, REC distributors – following special REC training – are authorized to certify installers as REC Solar Professional and to give them an extended warranty of more than two years on REC solar panels.
This is equally valuable to REC, since it reinforces the guarantee of consistently high quality from production to installation. The REC Partner Program provides a portfolio of benefits to help REC distributors grow their business profitably — including a dedicated portal where partners can track deliveries and gain access to marketing resources, training material, and technical support, all in local languages. Partners can qualify for two different levels of membership, Platinum and Gold. Platinum partners enjoy a range of exclusive benefits.
Japan’s cumulative installed solar capacity in 2013 surpassed 14 GW. Annual growth in solar capacities of between 9 GW and 10 GW is projected for 2014 and 2015, with commercial installations set to be the main driver of expansion in the solar market, growing from 3-4 GW in 2013 to 4-5 GW in 2014. The country gave final approval to the 11% feed-in tariffs cut to 32 yen per kilowatt-hour for the 20 years from the fiscal year that started in April.
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