Gov`t eyeing 10-fold increase in solar-powered schools

TOKYO, July 17 Kyodo -
The government has begun accepting applications from public elementary and
secondary schools for subsidies for installation of photovoltaic panels under
its program to realize a 10-fold increase in the number of schools equipped
with solar power generation systems in fiscal 2012, government officials said
Friday.
The government has set aside 1.1 trillion yen in the supplementary budget for
fiscal 2009 to subsidize the installation of photovoltaic panels and
quake-resistant systems in public elementary and secondary schools.
With the budget appropriation, 95 percent of the cost of installing
photovoltaic panels can be covered with subsidies, up from 50 percent before
the enactment of the supplementary budget. The installation of a solar power
system capable of generating 20 kilowatts of electricity is estimated to cost
20 million yen.
The government plans to increase the number of public elementary and secondary
schools having photovoltaic panels to 12,000 in fiscal 2012 as part of efforts
to clear Prime Minister Taro Aso's pledge in June to achieve a 15 percent cut
Japan's greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2020. It is considering
installing the panels in all 32,000 public elementary and secondary schools in
the future.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology estimates
that a solar-powered school can cut electric bills by 210,000 to 260,000 yen a
year and carbon dioxide emissions by 10 to 13 tons.
==Kyodo