Page 460 - Sustainable Cities and Communities Design Handbook

430 Sustainable Cities and Communities Design Handbook

The Higashi Matsushima project is indeed a flagship initiative emblematic
of Japan’s inclusive governance and commitment to advanced technology
centered on the city post 3-11.

THE POWER BUSINESS

Moreover, the Higashi Matsushima eco town’s 460 kW of solar power capacity
is just a fraction of the city’s renewable portfolio. As shown in Fig. 21.4, the
deployment of renewable energy in Higashi Matsushima city (not just the eco
town) multiplied by nearly 20 times between 2011 and 2015, rising to 35% of
the city’s power consumption. The city aims to achieve a target of 120%
renewable energy by 2026 (Kono, 2017, pp. 85e88).
Japan’s policies on smart communities promote distributed energy as local
economic revitalization in addition to disaster resilience. The ongoing
deregulation of Japan’s retail power, gas, and district-heating markets is
deliberately being used to foster local initiatives. Reflecting this thinking, from
April 2016, Higashi Matsushima began operating a local power company,
“HOPE Electricity.” As of October, 2016, HOPE Electricity had a client base
of 34 city and 98 private sector facilities and was delivering just over 8 MW of
power at 1.5% below the cost of Tohoku Power, the regional utility. HOPE
Electricity’s power sales are expected to bring in JPY 10 million of profit, to be
reinvested in the community. HOPE also aims to increase its power sales to

FIGURE 21.4 Renewable energy in Higashi Matsushima city, 2011e15. Adapted from MOE,
October 6, 2016a. Town Planning for Local-production/local-consumption and Disaster Re-
covery. Ministry of the Environment, (in Japanese). http://www.env.go.jp/press/y0618-05/mat05_
1.pdf,p.11