Japan’s Ministry of the Environment Certifies Farmland with Agrivoltaics as a “Nature Coexistence Area”
On September 30, UPDATER (Tokyo) announced that 8.85 ha of farmland in Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture, including a commercial agrivoltaic power facility, was certified by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment as a “Nature Coexistence Area”. This marks the first time in Japan that farmland with agrivoltaics has received such recognition.
The project applicant, the Tsuboguchi Institute for Future Farming, introduced “stork-friendly farming” methods aligned with Toyooka’s biodiversity initiatives, including the reintroduction of the endangered Oriental stork since 2005.
The agrivoltaic facility, supported by Patagonia in 2019, has a capacity of 311.4 kW (223.7 kW grid-connected) and cultivates rice, fruits, vegetables, and seedlings beneath solar panels. Electricity is sold to Kansai Electric through UPDATER’s blockchain-based system, with part of the power supplied to Patagonia’s stores in Kansai.
UPDATER also launched the “Symbiotic Renewable Energy 10 Project”, aiming to establish at least 10 eco-friendly agrivoltaic plants by 2028 to balance agriculture, renewable energy, and biodiversity.
In related biodiversity surveys at agrivoltaic fields in Tochigi, conducted with Green System Corporation, researchers confirmed the breeding of the endangered giant water bug, the near-threatened Tokyo Daruma pond frog, and the growth of the near-threatened aquatic plant giant duckweed.
Facilities in these fields operate 49.5 kW grid-connected solar systems on 0.29–0.34 ha of farmland.
