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

  • Changing perceptions and going green with ITS
    May 26, 2022
    Entrants to the ITS (UK) Essay Award were asked to write about innovative application of ITS solutions to achieve decarbonisation goals. First-year apprentice Leora Wilson, who studies at Leeds College of Building as part of her apprenticeship with Mott MacDonald, won the competition with this entry…
    Read More
  • Do satellites provide a heavenly view of tolling’s future?
    December 16, 2014
    Satellite-based tolling opens up new options for authorities and can be integrated with DSRC systems as David Crawford discovers. As the proud custodian of the European Union (EU)’s longest road network covered by a single (truck) charging scheme – and the only one to include all major roads - Slovakia has become the continent’s poster-nation for the virtues of GNSS/CN (Global Navigation Satellite System/Cellular Network)-based tolling. It is also proved to be a very fast implementer. Speaking at the 2014 I
    Read More
  • The problem of mass transit ridership post-Covid 19
    June 9, 2020
    Several pillars of Mobility as a Service – notably public transit, ride-share and micromobility – are under pressure as ridership plummets.
    Read More
  • Align transport infrastructure needs with ITS offerings
    July 19, 2012
    Kallistratos Dionelis, General Secretary of ASECAP, ponders the absence of creativity and innovation in the road management sector. 'Traditional' road managers and ITS specialists share many of the same ultimate goals and yet, he says, a common understanding of what technology can achieve is still conspicuously absent.
    Read More

Highlighted Content