Solar double cropping takes off in Japan

[bananas]

http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/solar-double-cropping-takes-japan.html

Solar double cropping takes off in Japan

Sami Grover
October 11, 2013



Solar power is all well and good, but how much land would we need to go solar in a big way? And how do we balance the need for energy with other important needs like, umm, food for example?

In the scorching sunlight of a North Carolina summer, Doug Jones of Piedmont Biofarm has already been exploring solar double cropping as a means to generate power and grow food on the same land.

Over in Japan, where agricultural land is highly prized, a group of farmers are pursuing a similar goal—developing what they refer to as "solar sharing". Junko Movellan of Renewable Energy World has posted an interesting exploration of the solar sharing phenomenon, explaining that until recently, solar power plants were restricted or banned from being built on active farmland.

In April of this year, however, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) approved installation of PV systems on existing, crop-producing farmland so long as they are not anchored with permanent concrete footings, and do not restrict either farm operations or crop productivity. Movellan explains that this has allowed farmers, like Makoto Takazawa of the Kazusatsurumai Solar Sharing Project, to roll out a concept that's been developing for some time:

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[AnotherDreamWeaver]

1. K&R. nt

[Igel]

2. Lots of crops in the American SW could use the shade.

Most home gardens need shadecloths.

A two-fer.

[kristopher]

3. This is a perfect fit for Japan

Like us, if they can get rid of all the regulations designed to protect and favor the centralized power sources, they are looking at the start of a revolution.

[quadrature]

5. this story is crap

the real issue here is that Japan has bizarre
land ownership laws and tax laws.
for whatever reason, the laws make it impossible
to sell or re-zone land,
so rice farms exist within easy commuting
distance of Tokyo --> the people live
in rabbit hutches.

[kristopher]

6. Actually, your comment is a vacuous ...

... example of cultural ignorance and arrogance.

[Uncle Joe]

4. Kicked and recommended for a most creative idea.

Thanks for the thread, bananas.