Nature
PUBLISHED
Not a sport you’d usually associate with Japan, golf had its true boom during the 1980s. However, the leisurely sport is seeing a recent decline in interest. So what do you do with the land of many, massive golf courses, long abandoned after golfers are no longer in play?
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.Japanese electronics manufacturer Kyocera have a hole-in-one plan to turn these large expanses of open land into solar energy power sources.
Intending to follow through with this green idea, Kyocera’s initial project is now underway, which will see a 23 megawatt solar field installed on an abandoned golf course in Kyoto prefecture. When this development is completed in 2017, enough energy will be generated to power approximately 8,100 houses.
And Kyocera’s not stopping there. It wants to top that green energy accomplishment by creating a 92 megawatt solar plant on a disused golf course in Kagoshima prefecture. Though it will produce enough energy to power over 30,000 households, the project is yet to be given the go-ahead.
Nuclear energy has fallen out of favor with the population since the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Turning to solar may give the country an alternative renewable and environmentally-friendly source of energy.
[H/T: Business Insider]
