Valley Water and Wind Weave a Tale of Community Revival - May 2004

Valley Water and Wind Weave a Tale of Community Revival - May 2004
Around 2004, Japan reached a major milestone in its efforts to combat global warming. With the Kyoto Protocol about to enter into force, both national and local governments were trying to figure out how to introduce renewable energy. Farming and mountain villages were facing depopulation and financial difficulties, while urban and suburban areas were being asked to change their land use. In these times, an attempt was born for rural areas to shine a light on their small resources and carve out their own future.

The village of Seiwa in Kumamoto Prefecture took up the challenge of small-scale hydraulic power generation by utilizing an existing erosion control weir. The power output is 190 kW with an effective head of 14.38 m. The water turbine is a cross-flow type, and the Seiwa Hydroelectric Power Plant started operation in the spring of 2005. The power is used mainly for local facilities such as the Seiwa Bunraku Kan and roadside station, and the surplus is sold to the power grid. When there was a shortage, the power was purchased to make up for it, and the operation continued to be rooted in the reality of the village. The income from power sales reached 9 million yen per year and has become a source of revenue for the local community. The power of the small village management became the axis of a cycle that reconnects agriculture and tourism.

Meanwhile, in Onagaicho, Nagasaki Prefecture, wind power generation using the path of the wind has changed the landscape of the community. Three wind turbines generated over 20 million yen in electricity sales in fiscal 2003, the highest ever, and supported the local economy by selling electricity to Kyushu Electric Power Co. Electricity was also utilized for the herb garden and picnic park operated by the town's promotion corporation, which became a base for tours and sightseeing. More than 250 people from 14 groups visited the park, which also attracted attention as a site for environmental education.

These were the pioneering efforts of a region born on the eve of the establishment of the national system, when the RPS system was beginning to run and the feed-in tariff system was still a shadow of its former self, and a small municipality was looking at the potential of resources. The water from the valley turns the village around, and the sea breeze supports the town. This attempt to rebuild the community while walking in harmony with nature was the germ of the "local energy" that would later spread nationwide.

Small efforts eventually merge into a larger flow. The story of the valley's water and wind was a breath of fresh air that the region handed over to the future in 2004.