District heating and cooling projects are still in the early state of development in Japan. These projects, have a number of excellent features, such as prevention of air pollution and fire hazard in metropolitan areas and efficient use of energy.
This form of energy has aroused keen attention at a rapid pace especially in Tokyo, Osaka and Hokkaido, as a now urban energy.
The history of district heating and cooling project operators has been relatively new, numbering only ten today, but these operators have been regulated as public utilities since December 1972 pursuant to promulgation of the Heat Supply Industry Law.
This article analyzes the social backgrownd leading the popularization of district heating and cooling projects in Japan, as well as listing features of such schemes, explaining their relation with background circumstances and also referring to the history of district heating and cooling projects both in this country and abroad. It also deals with problems which district heating and cooling project operators, or heat suppliers, are facing and outlines what are stipulated in the Heat Supply Industry Law. The article also views the future of district heating and cooling projects in Japan.
