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

Valley Water and Wind Weave a Tale of Community Revitalization - May 2004
Around 2004, as Japan was about to enter into force of the Kyoto Protocol, the country was seeking ways to combat global warming and introduce renewable energy. Farming villages suffering from depopulation and municipalities in financial difficulties tried to become self-reliant by making use of local resources. Kiyowa Village in Kumamoto Prefecture and Konagai Town in Nagasaki Prefecture are two examples. In Seiwa Village, a small hydroelectric power plant with an output of 190 kW was constructed under village management, utilizing an existing erosion control weir. Electricity is used at the Kiyowa Bunraku Kan, Michi-no-Eki (roadside station), and other local facilities, and the surplus is sold. The system is realistic and produces an annual profit of 9 million yen, making it a model for local circulation in conjunction with agriculture and tourism.

On the other hand, Konagai Town has installed three wind turbines to take advantage of the wind conditions in the coastal area, which generated over 20 million yen in electricity sales in 2003, attracting tourism and visitors to the town. The power was also used to power facilities operated by the town's promotion corporation, attracting attention as a place for environmental education. These were examples of the region's pioneering efforts against the backdrop of the RPS system before the start of the feed-in tariff (FIT) system, and they anticipated the era of "local energy. The activities of these two communities, which turned the water and wind of the valley into power, reflected the way in which small municipalities are pioneering the future.