A "What If" Dialogue on Solar Power on a Golf Course - May 2004

A "What If" Dialogue on Solar Power on a Golf Course - May 2004
I was thinking about that time as I walked along a deserted golf course. The fairways, which would have been crowded with entertaining guests during the bubble era, were now quiet and overgrown with nothing but grass. The membership bubble had burst and no one was coming to the course, so the vast expanse of land was just lying there. Looking at the scenery, I suddenly thought to myself, "What if we put solar panels here?

It was the time when the Kyoto Protocol was adopted and Japan became responsible for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The nature of energy was being questioned, and renewable energy was gradually beginning to attract attention. I made an estimate of how much electricity a 10kW system would generate if placed in a hall 14,000 square meters in size, checking the size of the footprint. One million kWh per year, or 24 million yen. The moment I made the calculation, the image of the fairway being revitalized as an "energy field" came to my mind.

Of course, it could not be a pipe dream. The initial investment was huge, and the barriers of power sales contracts and systems were high. Although I was reminded of the harsh reality of the situation, I still felt strongly that we could do it. I believed that society would surely need a system that would generate electricity for the future without wasting idle assets.

In retrospect, the "what ifs" that I had imagined at that time were by no means fanciful. In retrospect, the "what if" I had envisioned at that time was not a fantasy, as closed golf courses across the country have since been transformed into mega-solar power plants. The image of the fairway I walked on became a reality just a few years later, becoming one of the symbols of Japan's introduction of renewable energy. That moment of "what if" was a solid response that allowed me to look into the future.