Edogawa Ward Citizens' Solar Power Plant Project - Budding Renewable Energy Initiated by Citizens (1999, Edogawa Ward, Tokyo)

Edogawa Ward Citizens' Solar Power Plant Project - Budding Renewable Energy Initiated by Citizens (1999, Edogawa Ward, Tokyo)

In the late 1990s, the issue of global warming became a major social issue in Japan, at a time when international commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions were made in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and "action plans to prevent global warming" began to be formulated in various regions. Especially in urban areas, reduction of energy consumption and introduction of renewable energy were important issues for citizens' movements and local government policies.

The attempt by a citizens' group in Edogawa Ward, "Citizens' Net Edogawa," to install a solar power plant at a local temple, Jukouin, was a perfect example of this trend. Although small, with an output of only about 5 kW, the power is used to power the guest halls, and the surplus is sold to an electric power company. This was a new business model at the time, combining private consumption with the sale of electricity, and was a precursor to the feed-in tariff (FIT) system that was to be introduced later.

Much of the funding came from subsidies from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and local governments, as well as donations from the public. In contrast to the conventional energy policy of focusing on public works projects, this project attracted attention as a budding "citizens' electric power" project in which citizens themselves provided funds to operate power plants in their own communities. The sight of priests and citizens discussing the possibility of building a second or third power plant after depreciation is symbolic of a local community taking charge of the future of energy.

This attempt was not only a part of the measures against global warming, but also demonstrated the possibility of a "participatory energy society" based on the ties and trust of the local community. The project was groundbreaking in that it presented a new direction for citizen participation in Japan's energy supply structure, which had been dominated by large-scale power sources, and was a pioneering example of the spread of renewable energy in the 2000s and beyond.