Taiwan and Japan: the renewable energy market
Climate change and governments commitments to net zero are driving rapid change in power generation across the globe and we are seeing an increase in the speed of transition of electricity generation from fossil fuels to renewable capabilities.
Asia has always had to deal with problems arising from natural catastrophes such as tsunamis, earthquakes and typhoon. This presents challenges around how best to navigate the journey to net zero and managing the technical issues associated with installing this type of equipment in countries with significant natural catastrophe exposures.
In this review, Mamoru Tanouchi, managing director, Japan K.K., and Zakky Cheng, managing director, Crawford Taiwan, provide an overview of the renewable energy markets in their regions and outline the challenges currently being faced with the associated insurance exposures and how OEMs are improving their products to deal with these environments.
Crawford is working closely with stakeholders to make sure that we are fully equipped to deal with both the current issues and the emerging challenges as technical advancements are made. This involves training our staff to ensure that they are familiar with the latest technology and working with stakeholders both pre-loss and post-loss to make sure that we understand their developing needs in this area.
Taiwan market overview
Taiwan is rapidly expanding its renewable energy sector. In 2022, the National Development Council (NCD) Taiwan published “Taiwan’s Pathway to Net-Zero Emissions in 2050,” targeting 60–70% of electricity from renewables by 2050. While offshore wind is a current focus following the phase-out of nuclear power in 2025, solar photovoltaic capacity is projected to increase from around 14.3GW in 2024 to approximately 31.2GW by 2035, positioning Taiwan as a regional leader in innovation and sustainability. The sector is supported by strong government policy but faces challenges in supply-demand balance and corporate procurement, especially as global and local companies seek to meet ambitious RE100 targets. The market is highly competitive, with significant investment in solar, wind and other renewables.
Insurance and risk assessment
The insurance market for renewables in Taiwan is evolving quickly. As large-scale projects proliferate, insurers and reinsurers are adapting to cover complex risks, including natural catastrophes (typhoons, earthquakes), construction delays and business interruption. There is a growing demand for risk advisory and loss adjusting services tailored to renewable energy, with a focus on both pre-loss risk surveys and post-loss claims management. The market for renewable energy insurance in Taiwan is forecast to grow steadily through 2030, with increasing sophistication in risk assessment and coverage options for both residential and commercial projects.
Local events - Crawford's involvement following Typhoon Danas
Typhoon Danas caused extensive damage to more than 150 solar farms (both inland and floating) in July 2025, with over 135,000 solar panels impacted across 30+ businesses. Crawford Asia’s Taiwan team managed over 50 insurance claims related to damage from Typhoon Danas, including the two most severely affected floating solar farms. Here are some key elements of these events:
Environmental concerns
- Concerns were raised by the general public about environmental risks, in particular the possibility of water contamination from damaged solar panels
- Initial water quality tests by Taiwan’s Ministry of Environment showed no significant abnormalities in heavy metal concentrations, indicating no immediate contamination risk
- Cleanup and recycling efforts for damaged panels were promptly initiated
Proactive approach
- In keeping with its commitment to strengthen and deepen its technical expertise across Asia, Crawford Taiwan demonstrated a proactive approach to renewable energy claims and risk assessment, 7 of Crawford’s Taiwan adjusters attended ‘Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Building Design Engineer’ training over 4 weeks in August 2025 and all obtained certification. This underpins Crawford’s belief that by continuously improving our professional skills through training, we can provide our clients with higher quality, better service and improved outcomes.
Collaboration
- Crawford Taiwan played a central role in managing claims, supporting environmental safety and advancing professional standards following Typhoon Danas. Their actions contributed to both immediate recovery and long-term improvements in renewable energy risk management in Taiwan.
- The renewables energy industry is also contributing to broader efforts to improve the future resilience of solar infrastructure in Taiwan. In late 2025, Taiwanese manufacturer TSEC showcased typhoon-resistant glass solar modules at the Energy Taiwan trade show. These modules reportedly have a wind resistance of 17 on the Beaufort scale.
Japan market overview
Japan’s renewable energy sector has expanded rapidly since the Fukushima disaster, now contributing about 25-27% to the national energy mix. Japan’s 6th Strategic Energy Plan (2021) and the GX Decarbonization Power Supply Bill (2023) set a target for renewables to reach 36–38% of the electricity mix by 2030, but actual progress is slightly behind target due to slower development of new large-scale solar and increased overall electricity demand. The new administration is expected to further incentivize renewables, with a focus on integrating renewables with agriculture and supporting new technologies like hydrogen and synthetic fuels. Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (CPPAs) are becoming more common, and there is strong private sector demand for green energy.
Insurance and risk assessment
Japan’s insurance market for renewables is mature and dominated by domestic insurers and reinsurers. The region faces increasing scale and complexity of losses, driven by large projects and the concentration of high-tech industry Natural catastrophes – especially earthquakes and typhoons – are major risk factors. Insurers and reinsurers are investing in technical expertise and risk engineering, often recruiting professionals from engineering backgrounds to better understand and manage complex claims. There is a trend toward more sophisticated risk assessment, including advanced analytics, real-time data and parametric insurance products tied to weather indices.
Local events - failures of solar installations on sloped land
Across Japan, solar power facilities have increasingly been installed on sloped terrain, often near residential areas. Heavy rainfall and other natural disasters have led to landslides and the collapse of solar panel arrays, posing risks to nearby homes, roads and infrastructure. National surveys identified over 230 solar installations within designated landslide warning zones, with at least 34 in 'special warning' areas. Some local governments have begun prohibiting installations in high-risk locations, while national authorities are considering regulatory changes. The rapid expansion of solar power since 2012, driven by renewable energy policies, has led developers to favour cheaper, more available sloped land. Existing regulations focus on electrical safety and panel strength, not site-specific or “downhill” disaster risk.
The repercussions for loss adjusters and insurers are:
Increased risk exposure
- Loss adjusters must be prepared for a rise in claims related to landslides, panel collapses and property damage in areas with solar installations on unstable terrain.
- Insurers face heightened risk profiles for policies covering renewable energy assets, residential properties near such installations and related infrastructure.
- While pre-loss surveys or wider assistance for underwriting is not common in Japan, Crawford often provides general advice around potential risks to allow underwriters to determine whether they exclude or limit such risks.
Regulatory changes and compliance
- Ongoing discussions about stricter regulations may affect underwriting standards, risk assessment protocols and claims processes.
- Insurers and adjusters should monitor local and national policy developments to ensure compliance and anticipate changes in coverage requirements.
Site-specific risk assessment
- Traditional risk models may not adequately address the unique hazards posed by solar installations on sloped land.
- Adjusters will need to incorporate weather, geotechnical and environmental data into their investigations and reporting. For example:
- On geotechnical issues, we have seen the importance of soil stabilisation to some specific areas/regions, such as “Shirasu” soil in Kagoshima prefecture, where silt soil/clay is typically found. Without sufficient soil stabilisation, land slip can occur under heavy rain.
- On environmental issues, there are a lot of solar power plants built on former golf courses. As the trees are mostly removed, the water level in the soil becomes higher, which may result in landslips and soil erosion.
- Snowfall in the northern part of Japan continues to be heavier than expected, and so historical weather data is becoming less reliable. Where the snow depth exceeds design tolerances based on these past records, there is a risk that arrays could collapse if the design strength does not have a sufficient margin beyond the historical data. Therefore, design specifications should be carefully reviewed by loss adjusters for the appropriate tolerances.
Claims complexity
- These loss events may involve multiple parties (solar operators, homeowners, local authorities, possibly national authorities), increasing the complexity of claims and liability determination.
- Adjusters should expect more frequent site visits, technical evaluations and collaboration with engineers and environmental experts.
Strategic recommendations
- Proactive risk management: Insurers should encourage or require thorough site assessments before issuing policies for solar installations.
- Policy wording updates: Consider exclusions or special conditions for installations in high-risk zones.
- Training: Loss adjusters would benefit from specialised training in renewable energy risks and disaster response.
Regional and industry insights across both markets
Both markets are seeing evidence of insurers and loss adjusters investing in risk engineering and technical expertise, often leveraging local knowledge and advanced analytics to assess and mitigate risks. The complexity of claims is increasing, especially for large-scale and high-tech projects. There is a shift toward specialized loss adjusting and risk advisory services, with a focus on minimising downtime and expediting business recovery.
The global renewable energy insurance market is growing at both pace and scale, with property damage and business interruption policies dominating. Parametric solutions and new risk-transfer products are emerging to address unique risks in renewables.
In summary
Taiwan and Japan are both advancing rapidly in renewables, but both regions are navigating a period of significant challenge in risk and insurance due to the increasing impact of natural catastrophes, evolving regulatory requirements and the growing technical complexity of higher-value and catastrophe claims. The insurance sector is responding with more sophisticated products, technical expertise and risk management strategies to support the continued growth and resilience of the renewables industry in both markets.
In addition, and based in Singapore, Tony Chapman, head of Crawford Global Technical Services (GTS), Asia, now oversees complex loss adjusting activities throughout the region as well as coordinating global assignments originating from Asia-based reinsurers.
Scott Reichelt, president, Asia, explains that throughout 2025 he’s been growing Crawford’s large and complex loss team in Asia by strengthening and deepening its technical expertise – and will continue to do so in 2026.
“Our focus isn’t on training insurance people to be experts in various industries. Instead, we’re teaching insurance principles to expert engineers. They can then speak intuitively with clients on a peer-to-peer level about technical issues to enhance customer engagement, leading to better understanding of the loss and elevating our quality of service. So when we scale up in response to a large loss event, the focus will be on deploying regional resources with the technical knowledge to provide the right guidance to employees on the ground and, wherever possible, seeing that our people visiting loss sites can speak the local language.”
With its relentless commitment to technical excellence and strategic expansion, Crawford is a key partner for insurers and reinsurers seeking to navigate the evolving risks and regulatory landscape of the renewables market, not only in Taiwan and Japan, but across Asia as a whole.
