To address global warming and climate change, two major issues around the globe, the "Sixth Strategic Energy Plan'' was decided by the Japanese Cabinet Office in October 2021. This is expected to drive more use of renewable energies, especially solar power, in Japan towards 2030, and raise more social interest in such alternative energy sources.
In order to achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction target in fiscal year 2030 of 46-50% (compared to fiscal year 2013), the following figure shows that it is necessary to reduce CO₂ emissions from households, which inevitably calls for efforts by each individual. For households, it is essential not only to control demand by more emphasis on using less energy, but it will also become crucial to control provision with renewable sources such as solar power generation.
Outline of the Strategic Energy Plan (Draft) Prepared with data provided by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy on July 21, 2021.
We asked the users of "Weatherews" app about their interest in the use of renewable energy and found that though there is a high level of interest, only 10% of users have actually installed solar panels on their homes.
The reasons that they stated for putting off the installation of home solar power systems include: the cost of installation, age of the building, and living in apartment complexes. Another notable reason was concern about the stability of supply due to weather conditions.
Weathernews offers high-resolution 1km-grid weather forecasts and analysis values for solar radiation, both of which are essential for understanding the amount of solar power that can be generated. It may be difficult to estimate the amount of energy generated at any given geographical point with only the data for solar radiation and hours of sunshine observed at a particular meteorological observatory, because the actual amount of power that can be generated is affected by the performance of the panels themselves, the angle at which they are installed, as well as various other factors. The 1km-grid high-resolution data will help estimate the amount of power that can be generated at the specific location.
Having a clearer image of the efficiency of solar power generation may encourage people to consider home solar power systems. We aim to improve our daily forecasts in order to help increase the use of renewable energy systems for households, which will, in the end, contribute to mitigating negative impact on the environment.
Going forward, Weathernews will not only provide daily weather forecasts, but continue to create new value with higher perspective to help solve issues arising from climate change. In cooperation with our supporters (customers, shareholders and partners) around the world, we will continue to create value for a sustainable society.
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Theme01/ Mitigation
