Green Power Certification System Making Good Progress in Shizuoka City

Shizuoka City started a project to promote its "Green Power Certification System" in fiscal 2007. By selling "Certificates of Green Power" to corporations and events, the city trades the environmental value of renewable energy produced at a wind power generation facility in the city. All of the certificates were purchased in the month after the city adopted the system.

The city started operating its wind power generation facility, named "Fudenkun", in 2004. It was certified as a green power generation facility by the Green Power Certification Council Japan in March 2007. The city expects an annual income of about 3 million yen from selling "Certificates of Green Power." This income covers the maintenance and operation costs of the facility. The city also plans to allocate part of the income for environmental education and to promote "local production for local consumption" of green energy.

As of September 1, 2007, the "Certificates of Green Power" were issued to seven companies: one in Shizuoka Prefecture and six in other prefectures. Companies with the issued certificates can publicize themselves as environmentally friendly and improve their corporate images. They can also develop products and services utilizing the certificates. In some local authorities, the companies can use the purchased certificates against their carbon dioxide emission. These merits meet with corporate needs, which is why Shizuoka City believed their certificates sold out.

In addition to wind power generation, Shizuoka City has introduced a solar power generation system into the city's education center, water facilities and elementary schools, actively utilizing green energy generation as materials for environmental energy education. Using a fuel cell vehicle on loan from the Ministry of the Environment for 3 years from fiscal 2005 to 2007, the city has also been promoting green energy by organizing hands-on learning opportunities in the "Fuel Cell Experience Program in Shizuoka." The program includes workshops on new energy resources and test-riding of the fuel cell vehicle at elementary, junior high and senior high schools in the city.


- Concerts Set to Get Rockin' and Rollin' on Wind-Generated Power (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/db/197-e
- JFS Office Now Wind-Powered! (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/db/540-e

Posted: 2007/10/28 12:28:03 PM
Japanese version