Planning Issues in the Conflicting Public Interests of Landscape and Renewable Energy

Koura, Hisako; Akizuki, Hiroko

doi:10.11361/journalcpij.52.1171

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The amended legal systems in the country highlighted the importance of landscape (site selection) in renewable energy project development, though the relationship between these two is not yet well established. 77,78 As hypothesized in this study (see introduction), the concept of a natural landscape tends to serve as a powerful catalyst in social movements, which include the selection of an appropriate site for renewable energy projects. In the first category provided in Table 1, the term "scenery," which refers to natural scenery, is incorporated into the EIA law (Article 11 [4] of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act).…”

Section: Brief Characteristics Of Related Legal Systems On Renewable ...mentioning

confidence: 88%

Can urbanization move ahead with energy conservation and emission reduction? New evidence from China

Sun

Zhang

et al. 2022

Energy & Environment

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In China, urbanization is mainly stimulated by resource flows, and industrialization is normally accompanied by an increase in the proportion of the urban population and urban land area. During the process, urbanization at a rapid pace often induces a huge consumption of energy and environmental emissions. Nevertheless, it is also worth considering whether urbanization positively affects urban environment promotion. With a more solid economic foundation, urban subjects will carry out energy conservation and emission reduction (ECER) from various aspects, primarily focusing on technological innovation, advancement of production mechanisms and structural optimization. Along these lines, this study aims to examine urbanization's direct and indirect impact on energy conservation and emission reduction using panel data consisting of 196 Chinese cities for the period of 2011–2018 with a Slacks-based model and transmission mechanism. Study results indicate that urbanization's development can give a direct impetus to ECER, which is quite robust after employing a series of robust tests, including instrumental variable estimation. Besides, urbanization indirectly influences ECER by promoting economic growth, better allocation of resources, internet advancement, and adjusting the employment structure. Further investigation suggests that the relationship between urbanization and ECER is nonlinear, depending on the levels of the above-mentioned mediating variables. Finally, essential policy suggestions are proposed, i.e. promoting high-quality development of urban clusters, accelerating the policies for ECER, and paying more attention to economic growth, resource allocation, internet technology, and employment structure.

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Section: Brief Characteristics Of Related Legal Systems On Renewable ...mentioning

confidence: 88%

Can urbanization move ahead with energy conservation and emission reduction? New evidence from China

Sun

Zhang

et al. 2022

Energy & Environment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The amended legal systems in the country highlighted the importance of landscape (site selection) in renewable energy project development, though the relationship between these two is not yet well established. 77,78 As hypothesized in this study (see introduction), the concept of a natural landscape tends to serve as a powerful catalyst in social movements, which include the selection of an appropriate site for renewable energy projects. In the first category provided in Table 1, the term “scenery,” which refers to natural scenery, is incorporated into the EIA law (Article 11[4] of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act).…”

Section: Review Of Legal Systems In Japanmentioning

confidence: 88%

Wind farms in contested landscapes: Procedural and scale gaps of wind power facility constructions in Japan

Kohyama

Kohsaka

2022

Energy & Environment

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The legal system for renewable energy in Japan, Feed-in Tariff system, was deregulated in 2021 by the central government to reflect the international calls to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, this sudden change has raised concerns about social, environmental, and long-term economic sustainability. Thus, we conducted a state-of-the-art review of legal and policy frameworks of wind power projects in Japan and discussed the multi-layered structure at national- and municipal-level ordinances. By doing so, several gaps are highlighted. First, there are procedural gaps that business operators can de facto bypass by checking the environmental procedures. Second, there are issues at the scale (national or local), where the decisions are met. For example, while the overall framework is decided at the national level, the most contentious issues of the location of wind power facilities are left at the local level, where residents, municipalities, and developers are burdened to solve these issues. Third, in the current legal system, environmental impacts on popular natural landscapes are not taken into consideration. In the face of deregulation and concerns about multiple factors, there has been an increase in the number of municipalities opposing the construction of wind farms. Finally, existing legal cases related to wind power projects are provided to illustrate changes and disputes at different sites across Japan. These cases demonstrated how landscape elements (e.g. biodiversity) can be vital for wind power project development in Japan.

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Comprehensive Evaluation of Photovoltaic Solar Plants vs. Natural Ecosystems in Green Conflict Situations

Mori¹,

Tabata²

2020

Energies

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This study aims to develop a comprehensive method for evaluating the environmental cost/benefits of photovoltaic (PV) solar plant installation versus conserving natural ecosystems. First, the positive and negative impacts of installing PV solar plants in regions with natural ecosystems are reviewed. For focus and quantification, climate change mitigation and economic benefit were considered as benefits, and the loss of carbon sinks and biodiversity as well as disaster risk were considered as negatives. These items were also integrated as external costs using a life-cycle assessment method, and a ratio of positive versus negative impacts (P/N ratio) was developed, as part of our evaluation. The method was applied to a case study in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, where 361 large PV solar plants have been installed in areas that previously supported natural ecosystems. Prior to the PV installation, 25.5% of the plants were cleared from the natural ecosystem. Consequently, the annualized benefits (costs) for these Hyogo plants were estimated to be 101.16 (73.88) million USD, which yielded a P/N ratio of 1.37, indicating that their benefits outweighed their costs. An economic benefit was found to be one of the parameters that significantly influenced the P/N ratio.

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Planning Issues in the Conflicting Public Interests of Landscape and Renewable Energy

Cited by 4 publications

References 2 publications

Can urbanization move ahead with energy conservation and emission reduction? New evidence from China

Can urbanization move ahead with energy conservation and emission reduction? New evidence from China

Wind farms in contested landscapes: Procedural and scale gaps of wind power facility constructions in Japan

Comprehensive Evaluation of Photovoltaic Solar Plants vs. Natural Ecosystems in Green Conflict Situations

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