＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49) on X
(Reference) Original article in Japanese
・太陽光発電は本当にクリーンエネルギーか？環境破壊や廃棄物処分問題もある！
<Added 2024/5/28> The terrifying reality of “mega solar fires” beginning to occur across Japan. Risks of electric shock and leakage of hazardous materials!
In the past month or so, there have been a series of fires at mega solar (large-scale solar power generation facilities) in Kagoshima, Hokkaido, and Miyagi prefectures.
These fires are more difficult to deal with than typical fires because of the risk of electric shock, making it difficult to spray water, and there is also a risk of hazardous materials leaking due to damage to the solar panels.
Following the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, there has been a growing opinion that nuclear power and thermal power generation should be reduced and replaced with renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and geothermal power. Renewable energy has gained even more attention as environmentally friendly and clean energy.
However, these renewable energy sources do not necessarily have aspects that make them clean energy.
This time, we will consider solar power generation using solar panels.
1. Lifespan of Solar Panels
Solar power generation, the mainstay of renewable energy in Japan, has increased exponentially since the introduction of the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) system in 2012.
The lifespan of solar panels used in this solar power generation is estimated to be approximately 25 to 30 years.
2. Periods when solar panel disposal is concentrated
Therefore, solar power generation projects that began after the start of the FIT (Feed-in Tariff) program are expected to end around 2040, resulting in a large volume of waste, including solar panels, being generated from solar power generation facilities.
3. Concerns regarding the disposal of solar panels
Solar power generation projects, like other power generation projects, are long-term endeavors, but they have several distinctive features.
Firstly, the low barriers to entry make it accessible to a variety of businesses, not just traditional power generators, and it’s relatively common for the project owner to change during the project’s operation. Furthermore, solar panels involve at least four different types of businesses: manufacturing, power generation, disposal, and waste management.
Secondly, different types of solar panels contain hazardous substances such as lead, selenium, and cadmium.
Thirdly, because solar panels are thin, they are at risk of being blown away by wind or damaged by snow. They are also vulnerable to floods and pose a risk of electric shock. Since they generate electricity when exposed to light, they need to be covered with cloth to block sunlight during storage. Therefore, in the event of a disaster, improper disposal is crucial to prevent secondary damage.
For these reasons, there are the following concerns regarding the disposal of solar panels:
(1) Concerns about abandonment and illegal dumping
(2) Concerns about leakage and spread of hazardous substances
(3) Concerns about the strain on final disposal sites for industrial waste
It is estimated that by 2040, the peak year for the annual discharge of used solar panels will reach approximately 800,000 tons, accounting for 8% of the total amount of industrial waste that needs to be disposed of.
4. A series of protests against the construction of “mega solar panels”
The issue of “waste disposal” for solar panels is not widely known, so I think few people recognize it as a problem.
However, recently, opposition movements have arisen against the installation of large-scale solar panel (mega-solar panel) facilities by leveling mountainsides, citing concerns such as “environmental destruction, landslides, and water pollution” and “harm to the landscape.”
The “mega-solar development plan” near Kirigamine in Nagano Prefecture, which is also a national park, plans to install 310,000 solar panels on a project area of 196.5 hectares, roughly the size of 40 Tokyo Domes, making it one of the largest mega-solar projects in a mountainous area in Japan.
In addition to the “310,000 Solar Panel Project” near Kirigamine in Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture, opposition movements have arisen in other areas, including the Kamogawa-Ikeda district in Chiba Prefecture, Izu Kogen in Shizuoka Prefecture, Higashiura in Chita District, Aichi Prefecture, and Yokkaichi City in Mie Prefecture.
Furthermore, regarding the “mega solar power development project” near Kirigamine in Nagano Prefecture mentioned earlier, as a result of strong opposition from residents, the new power company “Loop,” which had been promoting the project, announced its withdrawal from the business in June 2020.