The Kyushu Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry announced plans to establish the Kyushu Green Energy Industry Promotion Council, a new body composed of renewable energy companies, government agencies and research institutions from around Kyushu, this March. Kyushu is home to many areas suited to solar, geothermal, wind and hydroelectric power, but solar power makes up the bulk of renewable energy projects because of the island’s abundance of sunlight and the relative ease of development. At the same time power output fluctuations raise concerns about the ability to ensure a stable supply of electricity from solar cells alone. The Bureau is launching the new council in an effort to unlock the latent potential of other renewable energy sources and to cultivate related industries.
A program to buy back power generated from renewable sources was launched last July, and after six months of operation, 800,000 kW of power, or 22% of the national total, was purchased in the seven prefectures of Kyushu. However, almost all of the electricity bought by licensed facilities in Kyushu was solar-generated (790,000 kW), with the remaining sliver coming from biomass (2,750 kW), hydroelectricity (473 kW) and geothermal plants (48 kW). As of Nov. 30, when this data was collected, no wind-generated electricity had been purchased. The Bureau chief expressed his desire to spur the use of Kyushu’s various forms of renewable energy with the new council. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun
