The EPCO role is interesting. My cursory knowledge suggests that their structure and staffing are unable to support lots of small-scale projects, while the internal power structure would be uninterested -- running those sorts of programs would not be a slot fought over by elite-track bureaucrats. (Then there are the technical issues of integrating lots of small connections into the grid, and the need for a structure to manage that. In other words, institutional interests aren't particularly, uh, interested.

Then there are the costs of siting, which I think of as a fixed cost. Now compared to the need to buy off a group of villages for a large plant, this may be small.
But per project (per 20mW of power) it's not necessarily cheaper, and again the EPCO's aren't staffed that way. Ditto if the kankatsu bureaucrats want a role -- there aren't enough of them to go around. (I'm reminded of a Mr. Ichiryu at what was then MITI, who I think did siting projects in the 1980s, all the wining and dining was great fun for him, relative to sitting at a desk in Kasumigaseki. But again, MITI wasn't staffed to handle lots of little projects.)

None of these barriers are insuperable. But if I've understand the postings of Paul and others, there's no natural nexus of actors (nor a super-charged
politician) to push over these "superable" barriers.

mike smitka
msmitka at wlu . edu
washington and lee=