Mimasaka City in Okayama Prefecture has been working on a project to construct a mega (large-scale) solar power plant featuring an output of 240MW, which will be the highest in Japan. In the future, solar power plants with a total output of 300MW are expected to be concentrated in the city.
Seiji Hagiwara, mayor of Mimasaka City, who originally worked for the Ministry of Trade and Industry (currently the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) and was previously a member of the House of Representatives, knows a lot about industrial and energy policies. We asked him about the ideal relationship between mega solar and local governments.
Solar power plants with a total output of more than 300MW located in the city
Q: Pacifico Energy KK (Minato-ku, Tokyo) operates the “Mimasaka Musashi Mega Solar Power Plant” (42MW of output based on solar panels) in Mimasaka City, and a mega solar power plant with 240MW of output (panel-based), which will be one of the largest in Japan, is being planned in the city. Mimasaka will be among the cities with the highest concentration of solar power plants in Japan.
Hagiwara: In addition to the two sites of Pacifico Energy, there are several mega solar power plants operated by other companies as well as solar power generation facilities for non-residential buildings and residential buildings. We expect that the total output will exceed 300MW in the future. For the capacity installed in a single municipality, I guess that amount will be one of the highest in Japan.
The temperature in Mimasaka is comparatively low among the cities in Okayama Prefecture, which is sometimes called “a prefecture of many clear days.” The power generation efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cells drops when the temperature rises. A series of development projects are planned in the city because it has a large amount of solar radiation while the temperature is low, which is perfect for solar power generation.
Q: As a local government, how do you view the rapid increase of mega solar power plants in the city?
Hagiwara: As for mega solar power plants constructed on private land, as a local government, we take a neutral stand because the plants are planned based on the judgment of the landowner and as part of the measures for effective use of the land. Construction of such plants has both advantages and disadvantages for local governments.
The two major advantages are an increase of the tax revenue from property tax and job creation. Engineering work is normally undertaken by local companies, and the local economy is revitalized temporarily during the construction work. The name recognition of the city will improve if the scale is one of the largest in Japan and, because of the PR effect, the city will be known to have a local government that is committed to solving environmental issues.
One demerit is the safety issue caused by the decline in the water-retaining capacity of the land. Another demerit is the loss of the chance to attract other projects, because for 20 years the land is used solely for power generation. After assuming the post of mayor, I succeeded in attracting factories to the city. I expect there will be more chances to attract factories responding to the reshoring trend.
If panels are installed on land by constructing mega solar power plants, other projects that create more jobs could be shut out. I think this is also one of the demerits although it is invisible.
