Japan's Solar City of Future

WONG:
While most people in the world are considering more energy efficient means of living, Japan is one step ahead. One solar-powered city offers an energy self-sufficient community that produces its own power. Let's take a look.

STORY:
These dark rectangular solar panels could hold the key to a completely self-sufficient community.

Ota City, located about 80 kilometers north of Tokyo, is one of Japan's sunniest spots and home to strawberry fields.

Quite interestingly enough this nature hotspot is where 550 homes are given free solar panels from the government, as part of a study on how avoid blackouts by sharing solar power.

Mika Hiroshima's family moved to the neighborhood three years ago to try out solar power. All of her electrical appliances are mostly powered by solar energy and when they have some unused electricity left, they can sell it to a local power company and make a profit of up to 5,000 yen, or about 50 U.S. dollars, a month.

[Mika Hiroshima, House Wife]:
"I had never thought I'd be receiving money instead of paying when I receive electricity bills. People had told me how good this is but I didn't believe it until I actually saw negative numbers on my electricity bills. Then I realized how wonderful this system is."

Solar panel makers say that at high noon in sunny weather, a 4-kilowatt rooftop power generator can yield enough power to run four dryers at once. In cloudy weather, the power generated is less than half of that.

Experts say if families buy them at the current market price, it would take two to three decades before they could recover costs of about two million yen, or 20,000 U.S. dollars.

Ota housing development manager Kazuo Nakashima says the high equipment cost still is the biggest challenge in spreading the eco-friendly system.

[Kazuo Nakashima, Housing Development Manager]:
"Through this project, we've cleared technical issues over solar power generation in private homes. Now, the biggest challenge is how to reduce the cost of solar panels and related equipment."

The Japanese government scrapped solar panel subsidies in 2006, but it is planning to revive them next year, with the new subsidies expected to cover 10 percent of installation costs.

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[camelsonhorizon]

cool. one more step to utopia.

[Ngelcanfly]

Oh awesome. Someday, I might end up spending the rest of my life in Tokyo.

[hamid4222]

green power

[Zoza15]

In the Netherlands in the City Heerhugowaard : City of the Sun we have a Solar Island.

[tigran914]

this will never actually be put into effect ANYWHERE, why? cause the biggest income of EVERY nation comes from utilities and they wouldn't willingly give that up, they already have the technology to completely remove the need for gasoline, or any fossil fuel but it will never be put into affect cause the governments of countries won't make money off of them

[astrialkil]

@cornrows1978 that will never happen anywhere in this world !

[cornrows1978]

free from government....................­will never happen in north america

[angelablass]

@loveyoufolks Yep, sadly they aren't the only evils out there either.  There's more than we all care to admit, but it's time they all come to light so they can be prosecuted by the people, but we all know that won't happen. Not in our lifetime anyway. KILL THE MONETARY SYSTEM & U KILL THEIR POWER. It'd b beneficial for communities to barter & create a sustainable agriculture right where they live. The elite know this, so they are doing all they can not to allow it. Bastards!

[loveyoufolks]

@angelablass , you are right. The modern history is full of craps created by the Rothchilds, who have been establishing central bank with a power to print money out of nothing.

[loveyoufolks]

@Spitefox , it is you who was fucked.

[gooddarkjedi]

it is sad that i live in north where there is no sun in winter, but in summers these culd be used all the time. hmmmmmm. i wonder, culd the electricyti be imported from countries where sun shines when there is kamos in the north?