Unused space on highways in Japan to be rented out to generate solar power

Expressway companies in Japan plan to rent out unoccupied space on their superhighways, like those on sound-insulating walls, throughout the country for utility companies to generate solar power.
January 26, 2012 Read time: 1 min

Expressway companies in Japan plan to rent out unoccupied space on their superhighways, like those on sound-insulating walls, throughout the country for utility companies to generate solar power. Due to an expected rise in the demand for space to install solar panels, the expressway companies are expected to lease out the unoccupied expressway areas on a wide scale. Among the targeted areas for the planned rental service could be on highways in areas between cities, where sunlight is available for long hours.

The move follows the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry's planned system, under which electric power companies will purchase all renewable energy produced by corporations and households. Under the plan, the ministry will rent out roadside embankments, soundproof walls and other unused space on the highway system throughout the country to Kyocera, Toshiba, Sharp and other solar power generation companies. The full plan is scheduled to be unveiled in fiscal 2012.

Related Content

  • Smart Cities put people, prudence and businesses before technology
    December 4, 2014
    Caroline Haynes tells ITS International that transport planners and equipment suppliers need to adopt different thinking and the smartest cities don’t call themselves smart. The term Smart Cities has been around for some time and has become something of a catch-all term applied to novel or futuristic technology deployed in an urban setting.
    Read More
  • Driverless vehicles will cause changes in society
    May 31, 2013
    Paul Godsmark gives his views on what the advent of autonomous vehicles would mean for the wider society. Further to your article ‘Driver not required…’ in the Jan/Feb edition of ITS International which gave some great background to autonomous road vehicle (ARVs), I feel that the bigger picture is needed to aid understanding. There is a ‘technology freight train’ heading our way that is going to transform our roadways but we don’t seem to be aware of it and, therefore, are in no hurry to react.
    Read More
  • Flexible, demand-based parking charges ease parking problems
    April 10, 2012
    Innovative parking initiatives on the US Pacific Coast. David Crawford reviews. Californian cities are leading the way in trialling new solutions to their endemic parking problems. According to Donald Shoup, a professor of urban planning at the University of California in Los Angeles, drivers looking for available spots can cause up to 74% of traffic congestion in downtown areas. One solution is variable, demand-responsive pricing of parking.
    Read More
  • Flexible, demand-based parking charges ease parking problems
    April 10, 2012
    Innovative parking initiatives on the US Pacific Coast. David Crawford reviews. Californian cities are leading the way in trialling new solutions to their endemic parking problems. According to Donald Shoup, a professor of urban planning at the University of California in Los Angeles, drivers looking for available spots can cause up to 74% of traffic congestion in downtown areas. One solution is variable, demand-responsive pricing of parking.
    Read More

Highlighted Content