Wow, what a wonderful, detailed, insightful report by Andrew DeWit! I had no idea that the Japanese sub-governments were investing so much in renewables!
To me, this news is a revelation. something very sensible but that I had never expected to happen.
Localities have been leading the way in the US, but now to find them doing so in comparatively centralized Japan on this massive scale is quite astounding. If you don't mind, Andrew, could you please explain a bit of the mechanics of the new feed-in tariff law? Does it provide enough incentive to small alternative energy producers to make their investments after some years pay off or even turn a profit (as is or was the case with the pioneering German law)? Is this new law a major factor in this massive investment in alternatives by localities?
Thanks
Jeff