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A record 74 percent of municipalities nationwide are promoting renewable energy under policies defined in ordinances and official documents, according to the latest survey.

In surveys conducted in 2014, 2017 and 2020 by The Asahi Shimbun and Hitotsubashi University, only 50.5 percent to 56.0 percent of cities, wards, towns and villages responded in the same manner.

The fourth survey, which was conducted starting in January, received responses from 1,301 municipalities, or 74.7 percent of the total.

When combined with municipalities that selected options “promoting renewable energy as a policy” and “the mayor is proactive about promotion,” the total figure rose to 85.2 percent.

The survey asked municipalities promoting renewable energy for their reasons.

The most common responses were “contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions” (80.8 percent); “local production of energy for local consumption” (50.1 percent); and “enhancing disaster risk preparedness” (37.8 percent). Multiple answers were allowed.

The backdrop to the trend of backing renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, lies in national policy.

In October 2020, the government announced its carbon neutrality declaration, pledging to bring domestic greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

A growing number of municipalities and prefectures have issued “zero carbon city” declarations, aiming for net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

As of the end of September, 1,188 local governments had adopted such a declaration.

The government’s Seventh Strategic Energy Plan calls for increasing the share of renewable energy in electricity generation from the current 22.9 percent to about 40-50 percent by 2040.

At the same time, concerns have been raised across the country over renewable energy projects, such as damage to landscapes and the environment.

In the survey, a combined 51.0 percent of municipalities, the highest ever, responded that such problems “are occurring,” “occurred in the past” or “have not yet occurred but concerns exist.”

The most common source of problems were ground-mounted solar power facilities of 50 kilowatts or more, including mega-solar projects, which accounted for 67.7 percent.

The share of municipalities that have enacted ordinances to regulate siting rose sharply from 4.9 percent in the 2020 survey to 12.3 percent.

“It is crucial to establish ordinances and guidelines before problems occur,” said Hidetoshi Yamashita, an associate professor of environmental and resource economics at Hitotsubashi University, who has been involved in all four surveys.

As examples of such measures, Yamashita cited zoning to designate areas suitable or unsuitable for development and setting procedures for consultations with the local community prior to the commencement of projects.

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