Tokyo goes solar with policy for mandatory panels in new buildings
The Tokyo metropolitan government has made installation of solar panels mandatory on some newly constructed homes, as part of a policy to promote the use of solar power.
The city government is eying 2025 for the launch of the solar power initiative, the first of its kind in Japan.
“The promotion of decarbonisation is essential,” said an official at a metropolitan government energy task force meeting on Friday.
Home builders who construct and sell at least 20,000 square metres of Tokyo floor space per year will be among about 50 companies obligated to install solar panels.
However, the percentage of new builds that must have solar panels installed will differ from district to district, taking into consideration the fact that the amount of sunlight that reaches panels differs depending on where homes are built.
The figure will be 30 per cent in the downtown wards of Chiyoda and Chuo, where many high-rise buildings and condominiums are located, and some areas outside of the capital’s 23 metropolitan wards; 85 per cent in Meguro and Setagaya wards and the Tama region, which comprise mainly low-rise residential areas; and 70 per cent in Musashino and the capital’s remaining wards.
As solar panels have a lifespan of 20-30 years, the Tokyo government will also create a recycling system in preparation for mass disposal in the future. The leasing of solar panels will also be possible and a system will be created to offer subsidies to home buyers and leasing companies.
A mid-sized home builder has expressed concern that mandatory installation of solar panels could drive up costs and make it difficult to sell properties. In response, the Tokyo metropolitan government vowed to enhance support measures before the programme begins.
From the spring of 2025, new homes nationwide will have to conform to energy-saving performance standards, such as using materials with high levels of thermal insulation.
The metropolitan government has decided to launch its solar power initiative at the same time as the national energy-saving standards programme to reduce the burden on homebuilders.
“To realise decarbonisation, it is essential to spread awareness among the people of Tokyo,” Governor Yuriko Koike said at Friday’s meeting. “I hope this will be a turning point in history that will make people say, ‘Tokyo has changed.’”
The Japan News
Asia News Network
