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).
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 07 2015, @01:14AM
(Score: 2) by captain normal on Tuesday July 07 2015, @03:20AM
Actually back in the 80's, Many businessmen from Japan would come to the U.S. to play famous courses like Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines, Cypress Point, Riviera, and other great courses, not only in California, but all over the mainland US but also Hawaii. They could spend two to three weeks playing a different course every day for less than the green fees for one round on Japan's best courses.
At the same time they were paying outrageous prices for old persimmon wood drivers, 3-woods, and 5-woods.
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts"- --Daniel Patrick Moynihan--
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday July 07 2015, @10:31AM
Japan is also quite fad driven. Golf was the big sport in the 80's, then suddenly in the 90's it switched to soccer. Overnight there were soccer leagues and everyone was crazy about playing soccer. I was an analyst for Japanese equities at the time of the inflection point and all the trade publications were talking about it. The difference is once they move on from soccer they can easily repurpose the soccer field to something else. Golf courses are rather different, so it's good they're covering them with solar panels now.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by anubi on Tuesday July 07 2015, @01:20AM
I have heard of people living in extremely cramped conditions in Japan.
If they are going to build something like this, can't this be made in such a manner as to provide decent low cost housing as well?
Japan is well known for its beauty, artisans, and craftsmanship up there with the Germans and Swiss. I am quite sure some Japanese architects could turn such a thing into a piece of functional art.
I am fed up with solar projects that look like a half-finished roofing job. I have had enough discussions with my neighbors to know I am not alone in my observations. I will soon be going solar myself, but my panels will all be on a patio cover which is designed from the ground up to incorporate the panels in a decorative way. No one should ever suspect the whole idea of the patio was its roof - and meanwhile I have extremely easy access to maintain the panels or the wiring.
This infrastructure will be with them for a long time. Please do it right. That last photo [wsj.net] I saw on Soylent of a Japanese attempt at solar farming was an eyesore. Not Japanese at all in my book. Looked like a terrible waste of good land.
Japan is worldwide known for its artistry. I sure hope they keep it that way. What I saw in that picture I referenced is not art. Its an overdone test prototype.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday July 07 2015, @01:49AM
I'd worry too at the prospect of covering open space in an area as densely built up as Kyoto Prefecture, as any brief Google Map peek will reveal.
OTOH, they don't seem to have a large excess of parking lots like you would find in north america. They do have miles of cheek by jowl industrial looking buildings which could be covered leaving only the streets open.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by captain normal on Tuesday July 07 2015, @03:31AM
As someone mentioned above, the best place for solar farms might well be over the parking lots in the cities and suburbs. Just look at all the space around Costco's, Home Depots, Malls etc. Plus it would help protect peoples cars from the sun and rain...win/win
Also in the South and West it would offset the drain on the grid from the air conditioning of these huge indoor spaces.
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts"- --Daniel Patrick Moynihan--
(Score: 3, Informative) by frojack on Tuesday July 07 2015, @03:59AM
Open up your Google maps, and zoom in on any Japanese city.
You just don't have see those large parking lots.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 07 2015, @05:49AM
your perspective is skewed.
if you were from a non- mi-optic space faring civilization covering distances of light-years regularly,
you wouldn't see a "ugly" sea of solar panels covering green pastures but rather a tiny
neat-o energy detector/collector of the local solar-systems main gravity well.
it's all in the eye of the beholder : )
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday July 07 2015, @10:25AM
I think most people would agree with you but decorative installations drive the cost up a lot and lower the overall ROI for something people are doing for utility. That said, incorporating panels into a patio cover is a good idea and one you don't see much or hear people talking about a lot yet. Another option is a cover for your driveway, with the added benefit that you don't have to shovel the snow out in the winter. Both ideas give you more options if the orientation of your roof is sub-optimal for roof-mounted panels.
Hope you post pics of the patio cover when you're done.
BTW when I lived in Japan 20 years ago solar hot-water heaters were already quite ubiquitous on homes in Kyushu. Same goes for homes in Turkey, where we traveled on our honeymoon 10 years ago; incidentally, they also had alternative fuels like biodiesel and LNG at every gas station there. It's PVs that have yet to hit their stride, but when it comes to alternative energy and energy efficiency the United States far lags other parts of the world. It's rather a dinosaur, still running on dead dinosaurs.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 07 2015, @05:30AM
well maybe the japanese are finally waking up .. to the rising sun (?)
however the "battle" is not over.
the brain-dead burocratic hurdles for residential grid-tied photo-voltaics still need to be teared down.
the sun shines for everyone everywhere!
as much as more solar on the grid is laudable, the question remains:
would you support a huge central re-refrigerator to which you need to drive your car or your bicycle if you want to get one cold beer or some vegetables for dinner? probably not.
in the same sense, central monster solar farms are "good" but if i can have my own fridge at home it would be much better.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 07 2015, @05:40AM
just goes to show that in reality it is the government (and its buero-crazy) that creates a society of "haves" and "have-nots"...