Wakayama Prefecture Year when the light on residential solar gathered: FY 2008 Late 2000s

Wakayama Prefecture Year when the light on residential solar gathered: FY 2008 Late 2000s

In the late 2000s, the price of crude oil continued to soar in Japan, and the energy burden on households and businesses skyrocketed. This led to a surge of interest in renewable energy, and momentum was building to promote its widespread use, with the national government discussing the revival of a solar power generation subsidy program. Against this backdrop, Wakayama Prefecture launched its own subsidy program in fiscal 2008 to support the introduction of solar power generation systems for households. The subsidy was 25,000 yen per 1kW output, with a maximum of 125,000 yen, and was a great help to households at a time when equipment costs were still high.

Immediately after the launch of the program, 298 applications were received, far exceeding expectations, and a public lottery was held because the budget exceeded 20 million yen. This response coincided with the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit, where climate change countermeasures were a major topic of discussion, and indicated that environmental awareness was rising and concern about energy self-sufficiency was spreading to ordinary households.

In light of these circumstances, Wakayama Prefecture decided to continue the program in the following fiscal year and beyond. The popularity of solar power in FY 2008 was a symbolic event as local communities began to seek new forms of energy.