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And The Summer Olympics Coming To Tokyo In 2020 Is The Perfect  Setting To Show The World Their Progress

Tokyo uses a lot of electricity and they realize they could be using a lot more renewable energy.

One of their first initiatives was to create a city wide map showing all the roof tops where solar energy could be deployed.

Tokyo Solar Roof Register to Support Rooftop Expansion

According to data released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), Tokyo has approximately 137 MW of the reserved capacity for residential PV systems under the nation’s FIT program. This is equivalent to 4 percent of the nation’s total reserved capacity and makes Tokyo the No. 9 residential solar state in the nation.

To ramp up solar PV deployment, Tokyo has created the nation’s first solar map, displaying the area of potential solar resource available on homes and buildings in the city.

The solar map, known as the Tokyo Solar Register, calculates a suitable system size (kW) and potential electricity generation (kWh) by combining information on daily solar insolation, roof-top space, roof tilt, and shade conditions on each specific home or building.  This can serve as an important sales tool for PV installers and educational tool for homeowners and businesses.

Although the cost of solar systems has been reduced significantly, not everyone can yet afford solar systems, so Tokyo also offers a roof rental scheme. Homeowners or businesses with adequate roof space can charge a fee for renting out their roofs to project developers.

Tokyo has the role of matchmaker: It brings together those who want to rent out the roof space and those who can invest into solar projects by taking advantage of the nation’s feed-in tariff (FIT) program.  It established a web portal to connect interested parties and also provides pre-approved contract agreement forms to expedite renting processes.

As a recent example, Community Net, a developer of community housings for seniors, joined the roof rental effort by offering available roof space via one of its nursing homes. Regional project developer Tama Energy Coop, installed a 56.4-kW system after it raised funding from residents in Tama city. All electricity generated from the solar system will be sold to TEPCO under the FIT program. Tama Energy will pay Community Net 1,700 yen per kW per year (a total of 95,880 yen) for the next 20 years for the roof space.

Renewable Energy Generated within the Municipal Water Supply System

Not only is Tokyo utilizing available roof space from homes and buildings, it is also tapping into its vast water and sewage system infrastructure for renewable energy sources. In February, the Bureau of Waterworks of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government drew up a 10-year energy plan to increase renewable energy sources.

To support 13 million people, the water department uses 800 GWh of electricity per year, which is equivalent to 1 percent of Tokyo’s total electricity consumption, making the department one of the largest electricity users.

The water department plans to improve energy efficiency by at least 20 percent from 2000 levels by 2024 and install 8 MW of distributed PV capacity by 2020 and 10 MW by 2024.

Read more details at the original article.

Images were sourced from the original article.