The Star: Tuesday January 19, 2010
By TAN CHENG LI
Japan is looking at cleaner energy sources.
THE glint of solar cells on rooftops is becoming a common sight in Japanese cities as a growing number of households are embracing the power of the sun. Their reasons for so doing, however, are not purely environmental. With the introduction of feed-in tariff rules in November, households can sell the solar energy that they produce at a rate of ¥48 (RM1.80) per unit of electricity – twice as much as the normal electricity tariff. For non-residential premises, the rate is ¥24 (90 sen).
Between 1993 and 2008, 540,000 Japanese households installed photovoltaic (PV) panels. It also helps that the government subsidises ¥70,000 (RM2,660) for every 1 kilowatt of solar installation.
Big in Japan: The solar energy sector in Japan has expanded from residential installations to huge solar farms, such as the Hokuto city mega solar project, which can supply electricity to 650 households. The sector still needs government support and subsidies, as despite sliding prices, solar cells are still expensive, according to Keisuke Oka of the international sales division of solar company Kyocera.
Homes typically require a 3kW system, costing between ¥2mil and ¥2.5mil (RM76,000 and RM95,000). Households will use whatever solar energy that they produce in the house, and unused surplus power is sold to the power company. But later this year, the government intends to change the scheme and will pay for all the solar power generated, not just the surplus, as done in Europe.
“This will benefit the people even more as they can make a bigger profit from selling the solar energy,” says Oka. Although the initial investment in PV panels can be steep, he says one can recover the investment in about 10 years through the higher pricing of the feed-in tariff. “After 10 years, you can make money from the solar cells that you put on your roof.”
Numerous Japanese corporations have also installed PV cells on their buildings. Toyota’s assembly plant in Tsutsumi has PV panels on the roof, generating 2,400 million watt of solar power in 2008, enough to cover half of the energy needed in the final part of its assembly line. The carbon emissions from the plant is now half that of 1990. Globally, Toyota’s emissions have dropped 37% since 1990, to 1.34 million tonnes in 2008. And for Prius buyers, Toyota is offering an optional accessory: a solar cell roof that will power a ventilation fan that cools the car when it is parked.
Solar power now forms only about 2% of Japan’s energy supply but it is fast growing into a primary power source, with huge solar farms emerging. The Japan Federation of Electric Power Companies says by 2020, there will be 30 large-scale PV plants with a combined capacity of 140MW.
An apartment block with solar cells on the roofs to generate solar power, in Kitakyushu. “Various power companies have started planning large-scale PV farms and we’ll start seeing their construction this year,” says Keiichiro Asano of NTT Facilities that is researching the 2kW Hokuto city mega solar project which has the capacity to supply the electricity needs of 650 households.
Sun city
Some prefectures are taking to solar in a big way. The Yamanashi prefecture, for instance, aims to be a “solar power kingdom”. “To achieve this, we need different solar installations. So we are encouraging PV in residences and public buildings, and also mega-solar power stations,” says Hiroshi Ono, director of the sustainable society promotion division in the environmental bureau.
He says that since the local government offered subsidies of up to ¥100,000 (RM3,800) for PV installations in April, 250 households have put up solar power systems. This incentive is in addition to the national goverment’s subsidy of ¥70,000 (RM2,660) for every 1kW installation.
With some 550 households in the prefecture generating solar energy, and plans for a large-scale 10kW solar farm in collaboration with Tokyo Electric Power Corp, Yamanashi seems poised to reach its goal of being a solar capital.
Going for renewable energy is part of Yamanashi’s plan to be CO2-free by 2050, the other measures being curtailing CO2 emissions (from households, business, industry and transport), managing forests for CO2 absorption, using other renewable energy such as micro-hydroelectric power and biomass, and emission trading.
“Streams that gush down from the mountains that surround Yamanashi make it an ideal site for hydropower schemes. We have prepared a map of 98 suitable sites,” says Ono.
A good example of a mini-hydropower scheme is seen in Tsuru, a community of 30,000 in Yamanashi. A watermill installed near the City Hall, where a canal drops down 2m, generates enough power to meet 14% of the energy needs of the building.
Seisen Ryo, a conference-cum-retreat centre in Kiyosato in Yamanashi, demonstrates a way to generate energy from waste. Chips left behind in lumbering are ground and made into pellets which are burned in a boiler for heating, thereby saving 212 tonnes of CO2 between April and October. The centre also has a 30kW PV system on the roofs of the convention and accommodation buildings that supplies 2.65% of its electricity needs. This saves 3.4 tonnes of CO2 between April and October last year.
By employing various energy sources instead of fossil fuels, Yamanashi and other Japanese prefectures and cities are well on their way to going off-grid.
THE glint of solar cells on rooftops is becoming a common sight in Japanese cities as a growing number of households are embracing the power of the sun. Their reasons for so doing, however, are not purely environmental. With the introduction of feed-in tariff rules in November, households can sell the solar energy that they produce at a rate of ¥48 (RM1.80) per unit of electricity – twice as much as the normal electricity tariff. For non-residential premises, the rate is ¥24 (90 sen).
Between 1993 and 2008, 540,000 Japanese households installed photovoltaic (PV) panels. It also helps that the government subsidises ¥70,000 (RM2,660) for every 1 kilowatt of solar installation.
Big in Japan: The solar energy sector in Japan has expanded from residential installations to huge solar farms, such as the Hokuto city mega solar project, which can supply electricity to 650 households. Homes typically require a 3kW system, costing between ¥2mil and ¥2.5mil (RM76,000 and RM95,000). Households will use whatever solar energy that they produce in the house, and unused surplus power is sold to the power company. But later this year, the government intends to change the scheme and will pay for all the solar power generated, not just the surplus, as done in Europe.
“This will benefit the people even more as they can make a bigger profit from selling the solar energy,” says Oka. Although the initial investment in PV panels can be steep, he says one can recover the investment in about 10 years through the higher pricing of the feed-in tariff. “After 10 years, you can make money from the solar cells that you put on your roof.”
Numerous Japanese corporations have also installed PV cells on their buildings. Toyota’s assembly plant in Tsutsumi has PV panels on the roof, generating 2,400 million watt of solar power in 2008, enough to cover half of the energy needed in the final part of its assembly line. The carbon emissions from the plant is now half that of 1990. Globally, Toyota’s emissions have dropped 37% since 1990, to 1.34 million tonnes in 2008. And for Prius buyers, Toyota is offering an optional accessory: a solar cell roof that will power a ventilation fan that cools the car when it is parked.
Solar power now forms only about 2% of Japan’s energy supply but it is fast growing into a primary power source, with huge solar farms emerging. The Japan Federation of Electric Power Companies says by 2020, there will be 30 large-scale PV plants with a combined capacity of 140MW.
An apartment block with solar cells on the roofs to generate solar power, in Kitakyushu. Sun city
Some prefectures are taking to solar in a big way. The Yamanashi prefecture, for instance, aims to be a “solar power kingdom”. “To achieve this, we need different solar installations. So we are encouraging PV in residences and public buildings, and also mega-solar power stations,” says Hiroshi Ono, director of the sustainable society promotion division in the environmental bureau.
He says that since the local government offered subsidies of up to ¥100,000 (RM3,800) for PV installations in April, 250 households have put up solar power systems. This incentive is in addition to the national goverment’s subsidy of ¥70,000 (RM2,660) for every 1kW installation.
With some 550 households in the prefecture generating solar energy, and plans for a large-scale 10kW solar farm in collaboration with Tokyo Electric Power Corp, Yamanashi seems poised to reach its goal of being a solar capital.
Going for renewable energy is part of Yamanashi’s plan to be CO2-free by 2050, the other measures being curtailing CO2 emissions (from households, business, industry and transport), managing forests for CO2 absorption, using other renewable energy such as micro-hydroelectric power and biomass, and emission trading.
“Streams that gush down from the mountains that surround Yamanashi make it an ideal site for hydropower schemes. We have prepared a map of 98 suitable sites,” says Ono.
A good example of a mini-hydropower scheme is seen in Tsuru, a community of 30,000 in Yamanashi. A watermill installed near the City Hall, where a canal drops down 2m, generates enough power to meet 14% of the energy needs of the building.
Seisen Ryo, a conference-cum-retreat centre in Kiyosato in Yamanashi, demonstrates a way to generate energy from waste. Chips left behind in lumbering are ground and made into pellets which are burned in a boiler for heating, thereby saving 212 tonnes of CO2 between April and October. The centre also has a 30kW PV system on the roofs of the convention and accommodation buildings that supplies 2.65% of its electricity needs. This saves 3.4 tonnes of CO2 between April and October last year.
By employing various energy sources instead of fossil fuels, Yamanashi and other Japanese prefectures and cities are well on their way to going off-grid.
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