2017 Volume 96 Issue 10 Pages 463-469
This study was undertaken to analyze the photovoltaic generation potential of agricultural areas in Yamanashi Prefecture. An important issue in agricultural areas is the effective utilization of abandoned farmland. For example, solar sharing systems have made it possible to produce food and renewable energy on the same land simultaneously. The author proposed a method for assessing introduction potential of abandoned farmlands using geographical information systems. Agricultural settlements became classifiable into 1,687 irregular land areas based on census of agriculture and forestry. The author divided Yamanashi into 4,500 areas by the grid square data in more detail. This study investigated the use of overlay analysis to find south-facing slopes with 20 degree maximum inclination angle. In addition, the photovoltaic generation potential amount was estimated, excluding natural park areas and natural conservation areas. The photovoltaic generation potential in Yamanashi was estimated as 998 GWh per year using the amount of global solar radiation. The author extracted 215 grid square data using sensitivity analysis of the distance from transmission lines to the abandoned farmlands. Results revealed electric power generation of the areas as 394 GWh annually: equivalent to 6.4% of the electrical power consumption of Yamanashi Prefecture in FY2014.
