Japan: communities to be more bound into development
Onsen in Hakone, Japan (source: flickr/ kenleewrites, creative commons)
Francisco Rojas
11 Aug 2015
TJT: "The ministry believes that the new system can shorten the periods needed for starting geothermal plant construction by up to three years."
Japan has been signalling that it wants to develop their renewable energy potential for some time and solar power has seen a significant increase in development. Geothermal has also been on the talks and now, “The Ministry of the Environment will introduce a system to promote geothermal power generation by involving local municipalities from the initial stages of plant construction” says the Japan Times.
Traditionally, geothermal development takes a very long time in Japan and some communities oppose to said development or feel that are being left out of the consultation process. By involving local communities, the Central Government hopes to increase development speed and to reduce friction with communities.
According to the same source, the Ministry of Environment has already began to create local consultative bodies, which have been very successful for wind or solar power development and “based on the outcomes, the ministry will compile a guide to geothermal power projects as early as the end of fiscal 2017 so other interested regions can use it.”
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Source: The Japan Times
