Japan contemplates making solar compulsory on all new builds

May 23, 2011
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The Japanese Government is contemplating making it compulsory for all new buildings to be fitted with solar panels by 2030, according to financial newspaper Nikkei. The proposed legislation illustrates Japan’s desire to promote the use of renewable energy and is expected to be unveiled at the upcoming G8 summit in Deauville, France.

Japan’s Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, hopes that this and other Government initiatives, allied with technological innovation, will drastically bring down the costs of solar power generation over the coming decades and consequently make the use of renewable energy far more widespread.

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Nikkei also revealed that, despite the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima power plant earlier this year, Kan will also announce his country’s intention to continue operating nuclear plants at the two-day summit in northern France.

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