Tokyo Municipality Introduces Home Solar Project for Efficient Cost Recovery

Setagaya General Services Co., an affiliated organization of Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, launched a project to make photovoltaic systems more accessible to single-family homes in Setagaya under the name "Setagaya Solar Sun Sun Project," and started accepting applications from homeowners on July 17, 2012. The project is aimed at constructing a system capable of recovering the total cost of each system within 10 years by utilizing subsidies from the central government and the Tokyo metropolitan government, and by collaborating with banking institutions in Setagaya.

The initial installation cost for a standard model plan with a maximum output of 3.4 kilowatts is about 1,225,000 yen (about U.S.$15,500). With subsidies, this initial cost drops to about 766,000 yen (about U.S.$9,700). Assuming the balance is paid with a 10-year loan (floating rate with annual interest of about 1.6%) at an affiliated bank, the total repayment amount, with interest, can be paid off in seven years based on electricity-savings from self-consumption (33,000 yen or U.S.$418 per year) and additional income from selling electricity (88,000 yen or U.S.$1,144 per year).

Setagaya General Services will accept applications from up to 1000 homeowners for the project, targeting residential single-family homes with up to three stories. The company will present the optimal plan for each house after examining it during the application process.

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[Renewables] Current Status of Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Generation in Japan
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TAG Local government , System/Law