Windy Town, Looking to the Sea - Wind Power Generation Project in Konagai Town, Nagasaki Prefecture - 2004

Windy Town, Looking to the Sea - Wind Power Generation Project in Konagai Town, Nagasaki Prefecture - 2004

In the early 2000s, Japan was about to enter into force of the Kyoto Protocol, and the need to introduce renewable energy was growing. In 1998, a 300kW wind turbine from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was installed, and in 2000 and 2002, a 600kW Vestas turbine was added, for a total of 1500kW. In 2003, the three units were in full operation, and the revenue from electricity sales exceeded 20 million yen. Electricity was used at the town's Yamachabana Kogen picnic park and herb garden, and the surplus was sold to Kyushu Electric Power Co.

This initiative was not just a power generation project, but also a regional revitalization measure that combines tourism and environmental education. More than 250 visitors a year visited the project, which fostered a sense of pride among the town's residents and a place of learning for the community. At a time when the national government was introducing the RPS system, Onagaicho put its philosophy into practice in a down-to-earth manner, becoming a successful example that anticipated the feed-in tariff (FIT) system that was to be introduced later.

The town merged with Isahaya City in 2005, but the idea of using the local wind as a resource was inherited, and the town is still highly regarded as a renewable energy base along the Ariake Sea coast. The hill on which the windmills rotate quietly lives on as a symbol of local self-reliance and a sustainable future.