Hydropower development led by local residents:
In order to expand the use of small hydropower, local
residents are advised by the Government to take the
initiative to promote small hydropower development
by taking advantage of the characteristics of each area.
Local residents are asked to think about measures to
promote comprehensive development of hydropower,
together with solar power and wind power, as
renewable energies. In promoting community-based
hydropower development in the future, local
governments need to consider how to use water
resources in various ways, not only for hydropower
generation but also for tourism and other purposes,
and, to this end, a system that enables flexible
hydropower needs to be developed. In addition, the
Government commented that steps should be taken
to simplify application procedures and speed up
processing for small hydropower generation with
regard to the River Act and the Natural Parks Act, as
well as to create support systems that enable the easy
use of nationwide hydrological and terrain data for
development purposes, and maintenance and
management support systems of the power plants
once the project has been completed.