Renewable for disaster relief (4): 1 year after Japan earthquake

Sumita Town, Iwate

Like many other Tohoku areas, Sumita Town is rich in forest resources. Invested in sustainable forest management and lumber processing to support local jobs, it has been the owner of FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified forest.

Sumita Town was very quick to respond to the disaster. Right after the quake the mayor made a decision to build temporary housing complex for Tsunami survivors. The houses were built using local lumber. Unlike typical temporary evacuation houses that are prefabricated, those houses are made of real wood and offered significant comfort to the survivors who needed to heal from the disaster. The Tohoku Warmth and Unity Project installed 30 solar lights and 110 solar water heaters for the entire houses in the complex.

 

1 year after the earthquake, Tohoku region is still far from full recovery. Based on the request from the communities in need, the project is planning installing renewable systems in 31 more locations.  The requests keep coming in, but financial support is not keeping up to meet the demand.  In a long run, the goal of the project is to install permanent renewable system in those communities to meet the majority of local electricity demand. Their challenge continues.   

Tsunagari Nukumori Project is accepting donation. Contact them if you are interseted.

Tsunagari Nukumori Project
The Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies

4-54-11 Chuo, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0011 Japan
TEL:+81-3-6382-6061
FAX:+81-3-6382-6062
http://tsunagari-nukumori.jp//english
Email：re-shien@isep.or.jp

Renewable for disaster relief (3): 1 year after Japan earthquake

Fukushima

The failure of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant subsequent to the massive Tsunami was yet another catastrophe for Fukushima. The zone within 40 kilometers radius from the failed plant has been sealed off due to high radioactive concentration. Even outside the sealed zone people are facing difficulties and uncertainties.
The Fukushima Unity and Warmth Project installed solar panels in one of the care facilities for disabled people in Minamisoma, Fukushima. For years, the life of disabled people has been depending on the support from local communities. Relocation is not an easy option for many of those living in care facilities. However, the option to stay is not an easy path either. Their primary way of living, agriculture, is seriously impacted because the soil is now contaminated to grow any kind of food. Many caretakers have already evacuated to safer areas. To help alleviate financial hardship, the project is not only providing electricity to the care facility but is also bringing much needed income through sales of excess electricity to the grid.

Tsunagari Nukumori Project is accepting donation. Visit their website if you are interseted.

 

Tsunagari Nukumori Project
The Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies4-54-11 Chuo, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0011 Japan
TEL:+81-3-6382-6061
FAX:+81-3-6382-6062
http://tsunagari-nukumori.jp//english
Email：re-shien@isep.or.jp

Renewable for disaster relief (2): 1 year after Japan earthquake

Ishinomaki City, Iwate


Ishinomaki City is one of the most seriously impacted areas. Some coastal towns are still submerged because the land subsided significantly after the Tsunami. Completely isolated, those areas are still without access to electricity. But it’s not stopping local people to come back. They want to come back to repair their homes. They want to go back to what they used to do for living before the disaster: fishery.

Solar panels and solar lights are providing electricity and light that is so much needed by the local people who come visit their homes from temporary housing 15 miles away. Solar- powered light guides the fishermen early in the morning when they come back to the port sitting in otherwise completely lightless, pitch-dark town. The project also aims to install solar electric power system in town’s only shipyard that is so critical to keep local fishery up and running.

Tsunagari Nukumori Project is accepting donation. Visit their website if you are interested.

Tsunagari Nukumori Project
The Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies4-54-11 Chuo, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0011 Japan
TEL:+81-3-6382-6061
FAX:+81-3-6382-6062
http://tsunagari-nukumori.jp//english
Email：re-shien@isep.or.jp

Renewable for disaster relief (1): 1 year after Japan earthquake

On March 11, 2011 a 9.0 magnitude earthquake shook offshore North Eastern Japan and triggered a massive tsunami. More than 15,000 people lost their lives and 300,000 people still remain displaced even 10 months after the disaster. Affected communities are still struggling to restore normal life and people are desperate to get back the jobs that were washed away in the blink of an eye.


Energy has emerged as one the most critical issues for recovery. The weather in North Eastern part of Japan is harsh and it snows a lot in winter. Many regions are rural and remote. Right after the disaster many affected areas became energy isolated; people lost access to electricity, natural gas and/or gasoline under the freezing weather. Immediate assistance to provide electricity and heat was critical for survival of the victims. As relief activities intensified, many communities restored lifelines. However, it is also becoming obvious that some seriously impacted areas will be left without grid connection for some more time, if not for good.

Tohoku (the region hit by the disaster) Unity and Warmth Project has been launched to improve access to energy in disaster-hit communities in a sustainable way. Initiated by The Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies (ISEP), a Tokyo-based NGO that studies measures to promote renewable energy, the project focuses on providing electricity and heat using renewable energy. It also aims to offer much needed jobs to local people through implementation and installation of the projects.

“We would like to provide local, independent power such as solar and biomass in disaster-hit areas where help is difficult to reach. Independent renewable energy can also create local jobs. In the long-run, it can replace nuclear and fossil energy,” says Tetsunari Ida, Director of ISEP.

Since April 2011, the project has been installing small-scale solar and biomass energy systems such as solar panels, solar water heaters, solar street lights and biomass boilers at almost 200 locations throughout affected regions.