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Japan has been focusing on finding spaces well-suited for solar power that might otherwise go unused. Recently, solar power company Kyocera announced that it was building huge floating solar power plants that covered inland bodies of water like reservoirs, projects that both provided clean energy and were beneficial to the reservoirs themselves.
Now, the company has turned their attention to the several abandoned golf courses in the country, with plans to build large solar farms on the land. These golf courses feature large amounts of unused open land, few shade trees and high sun exposure -- all of the things you need for a productive solar farm.
The company has just started construction on a 23-MW solar power plant on an abandoned course in Kyoto Prefecture. It will generate an estimated 26,312 MWh per year -- enough to power 8,100 local homes. The company calculated that number based on the average household electricity use of 3,254.4 kWh per year.
When finished, it will be the largest solar power installation in Kyoto Prefecture.
How much power could be generated by covering parking lots with solar panels?
Kyocera and Century Tokyo Leasing, along with two other companies, also announced recently that they are developing a 92MW solar power plant at a site in Kagoshima Prefecture. The site was originally designated as a golf course over 30 years ago and then was abandoned.
In the bigger picture, are we looking at a solar uptake of abandoned golf courses? Are we to see more large-scale solar projects go up on golf-course land otherwise going unused? The press release said, "In the United States, several cities in states such as Florida, Utah, Kansas and Minnesota are having public discussion and considering proposals on how best to repurpose closed golf courses."
Advantages for groups with solar interests are evident in courses characterized by expansive land mass, high sun exposure and a low concentration of shade trees.
In Japan, embracing solar energy is easier said than done, however. PV-Tech, which focuses on news about the solar PV supply chain, put this in perspective. The site noted Japan's shortage of land for large-scale solar initiatives, with the government "now offering incentives to developers building PV plants on landfill sites" while at the same time showing reluctance to approve plant development on agricultural land.
Courses left idle are now under analysis for repurposing or redevelopment, said Kyocera. The glut is a reflection of golf-property overdevelopment, in the real estate boom of the 1990s and 2000s.
Andy Colthorpe in PV-Tech said earlier this month, "A legacy of Japan's early 90s boom years, the country's obsession with golf led to the development of many golf courses that have since proven economically unsustainable."
Original Submission 1
Original Submission 2
(Score: 3, Interesting) by zugedneb on Tuesday July 07 2015, @01:13AM
They should only cover what is already covered, like roads, buildings.
In water, fish live close to the surface. Covering inland water will not be a benefit to environment.
If free space in nature is covered, we soon will have nowhere to go.
Here is a fun experiment: take France or India in google earth, pick a place above the country and zoom in, and see if you find land not used for agriculture. You will get a shock when you see how much of the land is agriculture. Next time you will see an Indiana Jones type of movie, you will just go BWAAAHAHAHAHAHA, because there is barely any unused land left for him to roam around in...
Instead, concerning the energy consumption, in the spirit of modern times, let us implement some "austerity measures"...
old saying: "a troll is a window into the soul of humanity" + also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ajax
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 07 2015, @01:47AM
Clearly not a fisherman. They actually prefer and thrive in shade.
And why pick specifically France and India? Are those the only two countries that match your worldview? Again, any kind of sportsman would know just how many wild spaces there really are.
(Score: 2) by hash14 on Tuesday July 07 2015, @04:15AM
Agreed. When light strikes grass or other vegetation, it has the net effect of _removing_ carbon from the atmosphere. Putting solar panels over them isn't necessarily a _bad_ idea, but if you're going to put out the money for solar panels, then they would be more effective covering dark, inorganic surfaces which simply absorb sunlight and re-emit it as heat (roofs, for example). This is the basis for the city heat island effect, which is probably going to be one of the most significant direct contributors of illnesses and fatalities as a result of climate change over the next 5-whenever years.
(Score: 2) by mojo chan on Tuesday July 07 2015, @07:36AM
Gold courses have large areas of grass where not much lives, because there is no shelter or cover or anything much to eat. So while you could argue for taking it back to agricultural use, putting solar PV here isn't going to damage anything that is already there (except maybe some grass).
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