interesting, please forward it to friends and suggest that they start
their own free subscriptions at
http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/pages/009800.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japan for Sustainability Newsletter #082
------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 30, 2009
Copyright (c) 2009, Japan for Sustainability
Japan for Sustainability (JFS) is a non-profit communication platform to
disseminate environmental information from Japan to the world, with the
aim of helping both move onto a sustainable path.
See what's new on our web site: http://www.japanfs.org/en/
E-mail: info@japanfs.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------
In the June 2009 issue of the JFS Newsletter:
- A Brief History of the Environmental Movement in Japan (Part I)
- "Towards a Sustainable Japan -- Corporations at Work" (No. 80):
Stepping Up Efforts to Conserve Biodiversity--Ricoh Co.
- Japan's District Heating and Cooling Systems:
A Key to Urban Comfort and Efficiency
--------------------------------------------------------------------
A Brief History of the Environmental Movement in Japan (Part I)
Citizens and the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) representing them
have emerged around the world as a significant force driving social
change. Although still in the early stages of development compared to
European countries, the United States, and so on, NGOs and
citizen-driven movements in Japan are evolving in their own unique way,
while having taken inspiration from overseas. In this article, Junko
Edahiro offers a recent history of the evolution of Japan's citizen
movement and her views on future prospects, based on more than a decade
as an environmental journalist, writer, interpreter, and advocate for
the environment. Her views have been formed by many interactions over
the years with persons and organizations in every sector of society.
Junko also writes first-hand on NGOs, as one of the original co-founders
of Japan for Sustainability.
--------------------------
When I look back over the years, I see three phases of development in
the history of citizen movements and NGOs in Japan.
The first phase focused on "fighting industrial pollution." During the
period of rapid industrial growth in Japan between the mid-1950s and
early 1970s, serious pollution problems began to surface all over the
country. Examples include the industrial mercury poisoning that led to
an outbreak of Minamata disease, the severe health impacts of air
pollution from the giant petrochemical complex in Yokkaichi, and the
mining-caused cadmium pollution that made people suffer from the
"itai-itai" disease (literally, the "ouch-ouch sickness"). In response,
anti-pollution campaigns were launched, mainly by the local residents
most affected.
As the movement spread across the country, environmental awareness among
the general public continued to grow. People realized they were not
alone in being affected by these problems, and that they had the power
to influence society; they could get corporations to take responsibility
for their actions, and get governments to implement the necessary laws
and regulations. Under pressure from this widespread anti-pollution
movement, the government began to introduce a variety of pollution
control laws and regulations, while corporations started to more
seriously tackle environmental problems.
For example, in response to public demands for pollution control
measures, an extraordinary session of the Diet was convened (64th Diet,
also known as the Pollution Diet), at the end of November in 1970, to
deliberate intensively on pollution problems. Recognizing the urgent
need for national pollution-related legislation, the government
submitted 14 bills to the Diet, which passed them all, including an
amendment of the Basic Law for Environmental Pollution Control.
The second phase of the development of Japanese citizen-driven movements
was the tackling of "pollution caused by urban lifestyles" -- pollution
stemming from the everyday actions of the general public, as opposed to
pollution by particular corporations. A symbolic event was the outbreak
in 1977 of a red tide in Shiga Prefecture's Lake Biwa, Japan's biggest
lake.
Experts discovered that the lake, an important source of drinking
water for millions of people in western Japan, including big cities like
Osaka and Kyoto, was contaminated with phosphorus from the household use
of synthetic detergents. This was cause of the red tides, which are
actually algal blooms caused by an excess of nutrients in the water.
The local people were shocked when they learned that they themselves
were the cause of the pollution. They began efforts to protect the lake,
thinking that it was they who must act. A campaign was organized, mainly
by homemakers, which called on households to use natural soap instead of
synthetic detergent. As this "soap movement" spread across the country
from Lake Biwa, national and local governments implemented a variety of
laws and regulations to regulate the water quality of lakes and water
bodies.
At this stage, many citizens realized that the way they lived their
lives affected nature and the Earth. So they started to rethink and
change their lifestyles, instead of simply accusing or protesting
against corporations found to be damaging the environment.
This increasing public awareness led to the third phase of the citizens'
movement, tackling global environmental issues. Until this point, people
generally regarded environmental problems as local issues, such as the
local rivers being polluted, or nearby mountains being damaged, or the
condition of local seas being threatened. In the 1990s, however,
especially after the 1992 Earth Summit, public awareness of global
environmental problems started to spread dramatically. Admittedly, this
spread was not just a local trend in Japan; it was a global shift in
awareness.
Then disaster struck Japan: the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995.
It was devastating. Over 6,000 people died in and around the city of
Kobe, and most city functions ground to a halt. Students and other
members of the public converged from all over Japan into the Hanshin
area near the quake's epicenter as volunteers came to help the
earthquake victims and help get the city back up and running.
This is regarded by many as Year One for Volunteers in Japan. The
incident affected the public psyche and helped promote the idea of
volunteerism in modern times among the Japanese people. It made many
people think about not just their own wellbeing, but also the importance
of helping others, and doing what is necessary for the good of society,
even if it meant no financial compensation.
Another landmark was in 1997, when an international conference of the UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change was held in Kyoto to negotiate
and adopt the Kyoto Protocol. Many Japanese citizens worked together in
the hopes of making this meeting a success. To this point, most NGOs in
Japan were still small and worked locally. Inspired by the examples of
previous climate change conferences overseas, however, where many NGOs
in host country had formed a network to speak with a common voice at the
conference, some NGOs began form a network in Japan as well.
For the Kyoto Conference, many Japanese citizen organizations and NGOs
jointly established the "Kiko Forum" ("kiko" means "climate"), a
network-based NGO to work on issues from the citizen's perspective. It
was a major step in coalescing the power of citizens, by creating a
network of groups on this issue. The forum later evolved into the "Kiko
Network," which continues even now to work on global warming issues.
One can discern through all these developments the gradual evolution of
NGO activities in Japan. It was in this context that the Japanese
government began attempting to recognize more clearly the status of NGOs
in society. Up to this point, most NGOs were considered voluntary
organizations (i.e., collections of individuals working voluntarily) and
had no legal status. Because of this lack of status, they had a hard
time doing simple things like renting an office or getting financing.
Any such transactions had to be done in the name of an individual who
took full responsibility.
In 1998, a law concerning the activities of non-profit organizations
(NPOs) (known in Japan as the NPO Act) entered into force. It entitles
NGOs recognized by the national government or a municipality to seek
legal status. The law has made things easier for NGOs, and since then
the number of NPOs in Japan has increased dramatically.
Currently, more than 35,000 NPOs are incorporated in Japan. The majority
of them work in the areas of health, welfare, and town planning, while
up to 10,000 focus on the environment. Incidentally, Japan for
Sustainability remains a voluntary non-governmental organization,
because we didn't see the need to become an incorporated NPO. There are
many other NGOs and citizens' groups like us.
As a flood of media coverage and reports warns us of the reality that
global warming is accelerating, more and more citizens are feeling that
society's progress will be too slow if we continue to simply depend on
national or local governments to do something, and that we must act
sooner. In Japan, the traditional pattern to deal with issues in society
was for government to lead and companies and citizens to follow. These
days, however, citizen-led actions to address global warming are
spreading, partly because the government has less power to lead its
citizens than it had before.
Environmental education for the young and the general public is one
area where we now witness major NPO involvement. A growing movement of
citizens is also trying to make cities more sustainable. For instance,
many initiatives are trying to prevent the generation of waste first,
and then reuse or recycle the materials that eventually are disposed.
There is also a movement to promote consumption of locally-produced
energy through efforts such as citizen-funded renewable energy projects,
as introduced in a past JFS newsletter
(http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/newsletter/pages/028569.html).
Another active movement focuses on the wise use of local resources. For
instance, although 67 percent of Japanese land is forested (with
plantations being a major proportion), Japan's forest resources have not
been effectively utilized in the past few decades due to competition
from cheap foreign timber. Forests will not be well tended if they are
not being utilized. As the health of our forests started to deteriorate,
we have seen many groups across the country working to maintain and
preserve them.
This article has provided a brief introduction of the evolution of
Japan's citizens' movement and NGO activities. Reflecting upon it all, I
see two major trends.
One is a general shift away from activities to oppose something
(negative), and instead towards activities that support something
(positive). There used to be many protests across Japan against
pollution and over-development, such as the construction of dams and
forest exploitation. Protests still occur locally, of course, but when
we want to tackle global environmental issues, including global warming,
in which each of us is part of causing those problems, we must take
another approach. In such a case, I believe that one effective approach
is to create a vision of a desirable nation and society, and to support
efforts that will lead us there. We are seeing more and more NGOs taking
this approach.
The other trend is that, increasingly, more "regular" people are joining
NGOs, which in the past tended to consist of the minority of people with
a heightened awareness of issues. For instance, these days many people
work for a company on weekdays, and then participate in NGO activities
during their free time. That is the case with JFS, which has close to
500 volunteers. It is very encouraging for me to know that the movement
is expanding.
In the next issue, I will categorize and introduce the types of Japanese
NGO positions and activities, as well as their various roles.
Written by Junko Edahiro
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"Towards a Sustainable Japan -- Corporations at Work" (No. 80):
Stepping Up Efforts to Conserve Biodiversity--Ricoh Co.
http://www.ricoh.com/
Ricoh's Biodiversity Conservation Policy
The 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the
Convention on Biological Diversity is to be held in Nagoya, Aichi
Prefecture in 2010. Stimulated by this and other factors, an increasing
number of Japanese companies are launching or enhancing their
biodiversity conservation activities. Among them is the Ricoh Group, a
leading supplier of office and information equipment such as copiers and
printers, as well as optical equipment and electronic devices.
Ricoh has long been active in promoting environmental management. It
launched biodiversity conservation initiatives as early as 1999 as part
of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) program, starting with a
forest conservation project. Its participation in the Business and
Biodiversity Initiative later spurred even greater involvement. This
initiative was proposed by Germany when it hosted the ninth meeting of
the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity,
or COP 9, in May 2008, which adopted it. Companies signing its
Leadership Declaration are required to play a leading role in conserving
biological diversity.
Ricoh and nine other Japanese companies signed the declaration, and
Ricoh formulated its Biodiversity Conservation Policy in March 31, 2009.
"When preparing our Biodiversity Conservation Policy, we received a lot
of advice from the international conservation organizations World Wide
Fund for Nature (WWF), and Conservation International (CI)," says
Harumitsu Mashiko, Manager, Environmental Communication Office,
Corporate Environment Division, Ricoh.
Here we introduce a brief overview of Ricoh's Biodiversity Conservation
Policy.
------------------------
The Ricoh Biodiversity Conservation Policy
1. Business Management Challenges
Ricoh will make biodiversity conservation part of its environmental
management policy, in view of its status as a major business challenge.
2. Impact Evaluation and Mitigation
Ricoh will work to assess, understand, and analyze the impacts on
biological diversity of all aspects of our business operations,
including raw material procurement, and undertake ongoing efforts to
mitigate these impacts by applying numerical targets.
3. Implementation
From a combined perspective of biodiversity and business, measures will
be prioritized and the most effective and far-reaching measures will be
implemented first.
4. Technological Development Promotion
Aiming at the creation of a sustainable society, we will promote
development of technologies that utilize biological resources, and
enhance innovation in technological development and production processes
that are based on wisdom learned from ecosystems and living organisms.
5. Collaboration with Local Communities
In collaboration with not only government agencies but also with local
residents, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders, Ricoh
will pursue activities aimed at conserving precious ecosystems around
the world and biological diversity in the countries and areas where we
conduct business, with an eye to sustainable development.
6. Participation by All Employees
Following the proactive approach adopted by management and company-wide
measures to raise awareness, all employees will be encouraged to improve
their understanding and awareness of biodiversity and also to
participate in voluntary biodiversity conservation activities.
7. Promotion of Networking
Through activities conducted in cooperation with customers, suppliers,
other companies, NGOs, and international organizations, we will share
information, knowledge, and experience relating to biodiversity, and
work to expand the network of biodiversity conservation.
8. Public Relations
Ricoh will actively make public our conservation efforts, including
their actual results, to help increase momentum for biodiversity
conservation in society at large.
------------------------
The goal defined under the Policy's first heading, "Business Challenges"
refers to the inclusion of biodiversity concerns in the company's
environment code when it is revised in two years' time. This environment
code is the authoritative foundation for Ricoh's environmental approach.
Mashiko says of heading No. 2 "Impact Evaluation and Mitigation," "We
included these initiatives in our policy because they have not been
tried yet. Developing the implementation process will be the hardest
part." At present, not only Ricoh but also many other Japanese companies
are having a hard time establishing an index for evaluating biodiversity.
Every year Ricoh gives encouragement to group activities that contribute
to promoting biodiversity and conducts qualitative evaluations. Mashiko
continues, "We aim to set numerical targets in our action plan to
mitigate negative impacts on biodiversity. This year we are focusing on
creating a vision for these goals."
A new system is being developed for No. 3, "Implementation." The
company will require all business offices to take biodiversity into
consideration, something that has so far never been mandatory. It will
also focus on immediate approaches such as paper procurement and
employee training to enhance environmental consciousness.
Ricoh has in fact just marked its first step in implementing concrete
action based on this policy.
Making a Social Contribution to Protecting Wildlife and Local Residents
Policy items 5 through 8 have already been implemented as part of
overall environmental management. One example is the project to preserve
a forest ecosystem started in 1999, as noted above. This project focuses
on protecting local residents' livelihoods while protecting a variety of
ecosystems and regionally endemic species of wildlife.
This project has been carried out at a number of sites where the company
has worked together with or lent a helping hand to local community
groups and international NGOs. In Japan, the company supports activities
to preserve the biologically diverse Afan Forest in Nagano Prefecture
and the Yambaru Forest, home to the Okinawa Rail (Rallus okinawae), a
bird endemic to Okinawa Prefecture. Abroad, it supports the restoration
of Borneo's tropical forest orangutan habitats in Malaysia, and the
conservation of the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas
World Natural Heritage Site in China, home to the golden snub-nosed
monkey, which lives in alpine habitat.
One distinctive project aimed at protecting people's lives in close
relation to forests is being pursued in the Republic of Ghana. The
country has traditionally practiced a cycle of clearing tropical forest,
raising cacao and then repeating the process at a new site as the soil
loses fertility. Conservation International launched a project to
restore tropical rainforests through agroforestry, which Ricoh has
supported since 2002. A specific type of cacao that grows even in the
shade of other trees has been planted in the forest. This cultivation
method has actually led to as much as an eight-fold increase in crop
yields. Mashiko was enthusiastic about this successful example.
In order to make a contribution to the society and the environment in
terms of biodiversity, Ricoh is promoting its employees' voluntary
activities to preserve the environment and expand conservation networks
through symposiums for raising social awareness.
Aiming to Reduce its Environmental Load to One-Eighth by 2050
In establishing its vision for the future, Ricoh drew up some
projections about the society in 2050. By this time, the world
population is expected to reach nine billion, which will probably result
in enforced limits on the use of resources and land, with corresponding
impacts on businesses. Consequently, the company has reached the
conclusion that developed countries need to reduce the burden they place
on the environment to one-eighth of today's values. Ricoh has set this
as its extra-long-term goal.
Ricoh portrays a sustainable society in its unique Comet Circle frame
format.
http://www.ricoh.co.jp/ecology/comet/index.html (in Japanese)
This format portrays all stakeholders involved in production,
consumption and disposal of a certain product as members of a
circulation system. Mashiko explains that up until the present one
major initiative has been to improve the circulation of resources within
the system. He says, however, "This will not be enough when we think of
society in 2050. We also need to review our business operations overall,
giving particular attention to the production phase, and to reducing
amounts of new raw material input."
Ricoh measures its environmental load by considering "integrated
environmental impacts," a process that evaluates its various
environmental impacts and functions as an integrated indicator. This
indicator deals aggressively with environmental data on the impacts of
each operational process -- not only manufacturing, transportation and
maintenance, but also procurement of raw materials and after-purchase
consumer use.
In addition, Ricoh thinks that reducing its environmental burden is not
enough, but that working to protect biodiversity now is essential to
maintain and improve the resilience of our planet, and make a
sustainable society feasible.
Mashiko tells a story about what was behind the company's proactive
initiatives on biodiversity; "What made us step forward was an employee
who had ardently worked on this issue." The power of one person moved
the whole company. This, together with good relationships with
non-governmental organizations providing adequate advice, contributed to
what Ricoh is doing today.
Ricoh's efforts for the environment will never stop. The company's
environmental portal site dubbed "Gaiaia" communicates its vision to
further promote employee awareness. The website mainly focuses on its
employees, but access by stakeholders outside the company is also
welcome.
http://www.gaiaia.jp/index.html (Japanese only)
Mashiko says, "First we will encourage our employees to be more aware of
the environment. But we know that our actions have limits. We want to
expand the movement throughout society."
Written by Yuko Kishikami
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Japan's District Heating and Cooling Systems: A Key to Urban Comfort and
Efficiency
Introduction
Most Japanese use air conditioners to live indoors comfortably
throughout the year. Some cities have district-wide heating and cooling
systems, which distribute cold water, hot water, and steam produced at
one or more heat generation plants, to buildings in a limited area to be
used for cooling, heating, and hot-water supply. This month's newsletter
introduces the current state of Japan's district heating and cooling
systems.
Shinjuku is a major shopping, entertainment and business district within
Tokyo, and the home of many tall skyscrapers, including two office
towers of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. This business district is
where one of Japan's district-wide heating and cooling systems is in
operation. Cold water and steam generated with natural gas at the
Shinjuku District Heating and Cooling Center are supplied to buildings
in the system's service area for use by air conditioners. This center
has freezing capacity of 207,680kW and heat capacity of 173,139kW in the
total service floor area of 2,200,000 square meters, which is the
largest capacity in Japan and is one of the largest in the world.
A district heating and cooling system requires an extensive plumbing
network, but it also has a number of advantages compared to heating and
cooling systems installed in individual buildings. District heating has
economies of scale due to its large size and centralized control system,
making it possible to employ highly efficient thermal sources and even
untapped low-temperature thermal sources. Thus, this type of system can
contribute not only to energy conservation but also to reduction in
public nuisances, such as air and noise pollution and unpleasant
vibrations, due to more effective facility management. In addition,
safety concerns can be mitigated, since buildings do not need to be
equipped with potentially dangerous facilities or materials, such as
their own air-conditioning plants or fuel supply. As well, the space
that would otherwise be used for air-conditioning equipment in buildings
can be used for other purposes. Chimneys and cooling towers are not
necessary, either, so the aesthetic aspects of buildings and cityscapes
are improved.
According to a survey on energy conservation by Japan's Ministry of
Economy, Trade and Industry, district heating is more efficient than
individual systems installed in individual buildings, in terms of energy
conservation, by 12 percent when a general district heating method is
employed, 15 percent when a cogeneration system using exhaust heat is
employed, and 22 percent when otherwise untapped energy is used. As a
whole, an average energy saving of about 15 percent can be realized by
using a district heating system.
History of Japan's District Heating and Cooling Systems
The first district heating and cooling system in Japan was introduced at
the site of Osaka EXPO in 1970. In those days, environmental pollution
was becoming a serious issue as it grew with Japan's rapidly growing
economy, and thus, the regulation of air pollution, in particular, was
becoming more stringent. Many local governments were accelerating the
adoption of district heating and cooling systems as an effective measure
to mitigate air pollution, and this approach was rapidly introduced,
particularly in metropolitan areas such as Tokyo.
Against this backdrop, district heating and cooling systems became
subject to government control under the Heat Supply Business Act,
established in 1972, under which a heat supply facility with a capacity
of 21 gigajoules (GJ) or more per hour was regarded as a public utility.
(The thermal capacity of 21 gigajoules corresponds to the capacity
needed to operate 2,500 air conditioners for general household use, or
to air-condition an area of 50,000 square meters of office floor space.)
A heat supplier operating such a facility must obtain a license from the
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, obtain approval for rates and
other supply conditions, and always satisfy the needs for heating and
cooling in its service area. These requirements are defined by the Act
to secure the protection and safety of consumers.
During a period of three years from fiscal year 1972, 16 heat supply
operators obtained new licenses, bringing to 21 the total number of
service districts that had begun operations. In various areas throughout
Japan, new heat supply projects were planned, but the heavy impact of
the steep rise in oil prices caused by two oil crises from the end of
1973 forced the growth of the heating and cooling business to be scaled
back. The number of newly licensed heat supply operators and the service
districts starting operations was 4 and 11, respectively, for the
six-year period from FY1975 to FY1980.
Due to a fall in raw material and fuel prices because of a decline in
oil prices, plus appreciation of the yen after the oil crises, the
management of heat supply operators gradually became more stable, and a
new development phase began in 1981 with an increase in the number of
newly licensed operators. From around 1986, in particular, district
heating and cooling systems were introduced in various areas, mainly in
Tokyo, as urban redevelopment progressed.
In FY1986, there were 32 heat suppliers operating in 42 service
districts, and their sales totaled 37.2 billion yen (about U.S.$380
million), while in FY2002, the number of operators reached 90, the
number of service districts grew to 147, and total heat sales reached
151.4 billion yen (about U.S.$1.55 billion), but these figures have
hardly grown since then. According to the Japan Heat Service Utilities
Association, it is largely because large-scale urban development has
been on the decline.
The Japan Heat Service Utilities Association
http://www.jdhc.or.jp/en/
At the end of FY2007, the numbers of heat supply operators and service
districts were 86 and 148, respectively. There were 12 service districts
in Hokkaido; 89 in the Tohoku and Kanto regions; 12 in the Chubu region;
27 in the Kinki, Chugoku, and Shikoku regions; and eight in the Kyushu
region. The total service district area was 44,248,000 square meters and
the total service floor area in buildings was 48,674,000 square meters.
The quantity of heat sales was 25,071,818 GJ and total sales were
153,148 million yen (about U.S.$1.56 billion).
By FY2007, the technology used by heat supply facilities had
dramatically improved. The equipment, including chillers, had an
increased capacity, employed higher-efficiency technology, and the use
of cogeneration systems, in which heat is created simultaneously with
electricity generation, became widespread. Also, heat pump systems,
which recover heat from urban exhaust heat and untapped low-temperature
heat reservoirs, such as river water and air, were adopted. The types of
urban exhaust heat used include heat from waste incineration, wastewater
heat, and waste heat from subways, among other sources.
(Reference: Heat Supply Business Guide, FY2008 edition, published by the
Japan Heat Service Utilities Association.)
Recent Developments
As an example of the latest type of district heating and cooling system
in operation, we took a look at the state-of-the-art technology at the
Makuhari District Heating & Cooling Center, operated by Energy Advance
Co. This center supplies cold water at a temperature of 6.5 degrees
Celsius and steam at a temperature of 170 degrees Celsius for air
conditioning for the international business area in Makuhari New City
(located in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture) with an area of 61.6 hectares.
Nine facilities in the area, including Makuhari Messe, an international
convention complex, hotels, and office buildings, are currently supplied
with cold water and steam. In total, a floor area of 660,000 square
meters is covered by the center's service.
It has employed a steam boiler, a steam absorption chiller, plus a steam
turbine-driven turbo chiller system that uses the burning of natural gas
as a heat source since 1989. In March 2007, a high-efficiency gas-engine
cogeneration system was added by introducing two gas-engine generator
systems produced by the Wartsila Corporation in Finland. The electricity
generated by these two systems -- a 20-cylinder V-configuration engine,
the 20V34SG, with an electric generating capacity of 8,730 kilowatts,
and a 16-cylinder V-configuration engine, the 16V34SG, with an electric
generating capacity of 6,970 kilowatts -- is mainly used for the
electric turbo chillers to produce cold water. Furthermore, water warmed
when the engines are cooled is used as a heat source for the hot water
absorption chillers.
The heat of hot exhaust air from the engine systems is recovered in the
form of steam by the exhaust heat recovery boilers. Together with steam
from other boilers, the steam from the engine systems is supplied
directly to heating and cooling systems and used to power chillers.
These new gas-engine generator systems make it possible to respond to
fluctuations in heat demand by the optimal combination of different
systems.
The power generation efficiency (lower heating value standard, or LHV
standard) of these gas-engine systems is about 45 percent, which is
beyond the demand-end efficiency of general thermal power plants. The
system's total efficiency, which is the efficiency of hot water plus
that of exhaust heat recovery combined, is about 77 percent. The target
for total energy efficiency (coefficient of performance, or COP) is set
at 1.2, up from the current level of 0.7. (A COP of 0.7 means that
output energy is 0.7 when input energy is 1.) Meanwhile, the system has
already achieved a 24-percent reduction in fuel consumption and a
24,000-ton reduction of annual carbon dioxide emissions.
One feature of the modifications in 2007 is that when more electricity
is generated than the amount needed for the district's own use, the
surplus electricity can be sold to external entities. This became
possible due to the change brought by deregulation aimed at electricity
liberalization after the year 2000. As a result, power can be generated
at a maximum output level without being constrained by the actual amount
of use, and exhaust heat from power generation can be optimized, so that
total efficiency can be improved.
A visit to the Makuhari District Heating & Cooling Center gave the
author a much better understanding of the potential future of district
heating and cooling systems; the systems will likely grow out of
conventional ones that supply only heat and be geared toward "district
energy centers" that achieve significant energy saving by supplying both
heat and electricity. The company Energy Advance regards the Makuhari
District Heating & Cooling Center as a model case for a "district energy
center," and is aiming to introduce the same kind of system developed
there in other districts after evaluating its performance.
Makuhari District Heating & Cooling Center
http://www.energy-advance.co.jp/area/makuhari.html (in Japanese)
System flow of the center
http://www.energy-advance.co.jp/area/makuhari_virtual.html
Future Outlook
These days, something called a "microgrid" system has started to attract
attention in Japan. This is a system where various types of distributed
power sources are linked together by a network in a region, and power
generation and transmission within the region are controlled optimally.
Distributed power sources include solar, wind, biomass, and power
generated by cogeneration systems. As natural energy sources are not
constant producers for use as power sources, and regional power demand
fluctuates, it is essential to utilize information technology to control
the entire network and secure a stable energy supply. An advanced
district heating and cooling center will likely be a key facility in any
microgrid system.
Toward the creation of a working microgrid system, Tokyo Gas, a parent
company of Energy Advance, is carrying out a study on something called a
holonic energy system. The word "holonic" refers to "organic harmony
between individuals and the whole." In October 2006, the company built a
holonic energy system (utilizing a gas engine, solar power, wind power,
and a battery) in its Yokohama Research Institute and is conducting
demonstration tests.
http://www.tokyo-gas.co.jp/env/challenge/category01.html (Japanese only)
http://www.tokyo-gas.co.jp/Press/20080331-01.html (Japanese only)
Holonic energy systems are now attracting much attention for their
potential in district heating and cooling centers and the greater use of
renewable energy.
Written by Kiyoshi Koshiba
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[JFS Web Site Additions of the Month]
- JFS Newsletter No.81 (May 2009)
Sustainable Resource Procurement a Big Part of Becoming One of the
World's Top Five Pulp and Paper Companies:
The Journey of the Nippon Paper Group (2009/06/23)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/newsletter/pages/029088.html
Companies Causing a Wave of Change in Japanese Agriculture (2009/06/16)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/newsletter/pages/029086.html
Bhutan: Creating Index to Measure People's Happiness (2009/06/09)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/newsletter/pages/029065.html
- This month's cartoon:
"When money becomes scarce..." on the Manga Page (2009/06/10)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/manga/pages/028929.html
----------------------------------------------
[Announcement from JFS Partners]
========================================================
Candle Night Summer Solstice 2009
Turn off the lights, take it slow.
========================================================
June 20th (the day before the summer solstice)- July 7th, 2009
8 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Candle Night encourages people to turn off the lights and to spend some
quality time in the candlelight. JFS supports the initiative.
For more information on Candle Night,
please visit http://www.candle-night.org/english/
----------------------------------------------
We hope you enjoyed this issue of the JFS Newsletter.
We will be delivering more information every month from Japan on
activities and developments in the field of the environment. Please
visit our website for the latest news!
http://www.japanfs.org/en/
And please send your comments or requests to us at info@japanfs.org.
We will be back next month with more news.
Junko Edahiro
Hiroyuki Tada
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Japan for Sustainability newsletter is a free monthly newsletter to
keep you up-to-date on the latest developments in Japan. Japan for
Sustainability bears no liability for the newsletter's contents or use
of the information provided.
This newsletter is sent only to those who have registered for it. We do
not rent, loan or sell this e-mailing list to any other party.
If you wish to subscribe, please visit
http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/
To unsubscribe, please fill in the form E-mail Newsletter Unsubscribe
in this webpage:
http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/pages/009800.html
Back issues of the newsletter are also available.
http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/pages/027726.html#more
We welcome your comments. Please send them to: info@japanfs.org
Copyright (c) 2009, Japan for Sustainability. All Rights Reserved.
We invite you to forward our articles or use information on the JFS
website and in your newsletters, as long as you also provide the proper
credit to "Japan for Sustainability, http://www.japanfs.org/index.html."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
0 comments:
Post a Comment