Japan Press Weekly

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2013 April 17 - 23 [ENVIRONMENT]

Iida City starts supporting residents’ renewable energy generation

Iida City in Nagano Prefecture has become the first municipality in Japan to launch a program to support local groups’ projects to use renewable energy sources to generate electricity.

According to a city ordinance which came into effect on April 1, the administration will offer interest-free loans as well as experts’ advice for free to renewable energy projects run by local residents. It also makes it easier for such projects to be funded by local financial institutions.

“Natural energy belongs to local residents. We instilled in the ordinance the idea that residents have the right to use locally available energy to enjoy a sustainable life,” said a city office worker.

The ordinance is expected to be utilized to promote small hydropower generation by residents in the city’s Kamimura district, where rivers run down a steep descent. The project is expected to produce about 10 million yen in profits.

Many solar power generation projects have been based in Iida City, which has more than 2,000 hours of sunshine a year. The local credit union Iida Shinkin Bank has supported the funding of those projects. Kaminuma Toshihiko, who represents the local bank and was involved in the writing of the local ordinance, said, “As a local business, we would like to encourage local power generation businesses and see if they can financially succeed.”

Lawyer Mizukami Takahisa also worked with the city administration to establish the ordinance. He said that most of renewable energy projects in Japan are run by large companies, but there is no guarantee if they will continue once the electricity tariffs go down.

On the other hand, local-oriented businesses run by residents would not shift operations abroad like major companies, Mizukami added, stressing that administrative support is the key to increasing the number of such local-based renewable energy businesses and encourage energy saving efforts.