Environment Ministry Subsidizes Reduced CO2-Emission Housing

In a bid to effectively cut down carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from private homes, Japan's Ministry of the Environment (MOE) is now subsidizing model homes that emit lower amounts of CO2. The flat-rate subsidy of 400,000 yen (a little over U.S.$3,600) per house is being provided to 1,000 authorized model homes across Japan. The ministry accepted applications for the subsidy from May 16 through June 30, 2005. The MOE hopes that the existence of model homes will help result in reduced CO2 emissions from other homes as well.

The ministry grants the subsidy to homeowners who install designated equipment for curtailing CO2 emissions in newly-built or existing houses. The equipment includes: (1) insulation materials that meet the ministry's next-generation energy standards, (2) residential photovoltaic generation systems with a maximum output of 3 kilowatts or more and (3) high-efficiency boilers, such as CO2 refrigerant heat pumps, latent heat collection devices or gas engines that have the required capacity for each respective category. Homeowners must introduce all three types of improvements in order to qualify for the subsidy.

For three years after the introduction of the equipment, owners of subsidized model homes are asked to record the actual amounts of energy consumed and CO2 emissions reduced, and release this information through a network made up of subsidized homeowners.



Posted: 2005/09/07 03:49:27 PM
Japanese version