[Updated Apr 2023] Green Okinawa (17) Solar installation at home - post 1
Dear OISTers,
In the spirit of sharing practical information about how to live in a sustainable way in Okinawa, Please find our first post on the topic of solar panel installations on homes.
KarE-roof is a service that installs solar panels and storage batteries in your home free of charge.
Benefits:
- Installation is free of charge
- the electricity generated by the solar panel will be cheaper than electricity from the grid
- the home will still have electricity from the solar panels and battery even in the event of a typhoon where electricity from the grid is lost
- the electricity company takes care of maintaining the solar panels
- the home will be generating electricity from a renewable source of energy
There are some practical requirements to be eligible for this programme, including:
-
The roof area of the building must be 40 m2 or more
-
The storage battery installation area must be 1 m2
-
The roof must be flat and the house made of concrete
-
The building must be detached and have 1 or 2 stories (not more)
-
The house is less than 35 years old
For more information please visit https://www.kare-roof.jp/ which includes a short YouTube video about the programme and the application form.
The official contact is the KarE roof Secretariat for the Okinawa New Energy Development Co, telephone number 098-923-2477, operating Monday-Friday 10am-5pm.
Using clean and renewable energy is a critical part of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and averting the worst impacts of climate change.
Read other Green Okinawa posts in the series here
Photo credit: https://www.okiden.co.jp/
The post was developed in collaboration with Ami Chinen (OIST SCDA), Yoshimasa Nakamura (OIST Resource Center) and Kate Whitfield.