Solar panels installed at the government office and convention hall in Higashiagatsuma Town, Agatsuma County, Gunma Prefecture
Surprisingly little-known national subsidized project
Evacuation base-scale facilities need to accept hundreds to thousands of people in an emergency. Renovating a facility of this scale requires a budget of 100 million units, but Agatsuma County is implementing the Ministry of the Environment's "Project to promote the introduction of self-reliant and distributed energy equipment that simultaneously achieves regional disaster prevention/mitigation and low-carbonization." Clear the budget side using the subsidy system.
This subsidy project is based on the frequent occurrence of disasters such as heavy rains, typhoons, and earthquakes in recent years, and can be used when introducing equipment to secure energy supply even during power outages due to disasters. What is noteworthy is that along with preparing for disasters, "low carbonization" is also a requirement. In other words, it is necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during normal times by introducing renewable energy and energy-saving equipment, rather than simply “preparing”.
The first place we visited was the Takayama Village Health and Welfare Center. This is not only a community health center, but also a nursery school, children's center, and day care facility. Due to its many functions, the center has a site area of about 2,500 square meters and a total building area of 2,293.15 square meters.
In this health center, the energy for the air conditioning, lighting, and outlets is covered by the electricity originally purchased from the power company. In addition, solar heat was used to cover some of the heat storage floor heating and water heaters, and kerosene was also used for some of the water heaters.
After the renovation, the air conditioning, lighting, outlets, and water heater will be powered by electricity, and solar panels and storage batteries will be installed to reduce annual energy costs. If the solar power generation is insufficient due to bad weather, etc., we will purchase electricity from the power company. In addition, LP gas air conditioning and generators are also installed. By increasing the types of energy supply, we are dispersing risks in the event of a disaster. It is a mechanism that can maintain the function of the center as long as possible even in the event of a power failure.
The lighting in the facility has been replaced with LED. The water heater that we use frequently has been changed to an energy-saving electric Eco Cute that uses solar heat. Not only do we generate our own electricity, but we also reduce the amount of electricity we use by introducing energy-saving equipment.
Therefore, the change in utility costs is worrisome. Utility costs (average) from January to March before renewal are
・Electricity bill: 2,022,707 yen per month ・Gas bill: 121,892 yen per month ・Kerosene bill: 454,936 yen per month
However, the utility costs in 2021, when the facilities were renewed, are as follows.
・Electricity bill: 1,467,046 yen per month ・Gas bill: 336,115 yen per month ・Kerosene bill: 0 yen per month (because the water heater is electric)
We are increasing the number of gas air conditioners in some areas, so only gas costs have risen, but overall, we have succeeded in reducing 796,374 yen per month.
"We were able to reduce our electricity bills so much even though we switched to an electric hot water supply. At this rate, we can expect to save about 4 million yen a year in utility costs." Mr. Warita, Chief of Health Mirai Section, Takayama Village Office)
Does it look like a historical drama? Is the contents up-to-date? Higashiagatsuma town government building where 1,000 people can evacuate
The next place we visited was the government office and convention hall in Higashiagatsuma town. It looks like a castle even though it's a government office!? Due to the deterioration of the old town hall and the timing of updating the equipment of the hot spring facility, which had been difficult to manage, we realized a bold conversion of turning the hot spring facility into a town hall. In 2019, the function of the government building was transferred and it was reborn as a government office.
Since this government building will also be an evacuation center that can accommodate 1,000 people in the event of a disaster, along with earthquake resistance construction, we are working on "disaster prevention" and "low carbonization" by using the above-mentioned government subsidized project when relocating. .
Conventional government buildings used electricity from electric power companies for air conditioning, lighting, and electrical outlets. The new government building uses solar power, storage batteries, and LP gas as well as electricity from the same power company as before. The increase in the types of energy used is, like Takayama Village, risk diversification in the event of an emergency. In the event of a power outage due to a disaster, etc., solar power (storage battery) supplies power for lighting and outlets, and it also supports power generation with LP gas. As a result, energy costs (electricity, LP gas, kerosene) are expected to be reduced by about 1 million yen per year.
What was interesting was that part of the air conditioning was powered by electricity from the power company. Higashiagatsuma has a cool climate even in the summer, so it was decided that there would be no big problem even if the air conditioning (cooling) was turned off in the event of a disaster.
In addition, since it is used as a government office during normal times, we do not spend a budget for hot water supply equipment like a health welfare center that requires nursing care. Since the project to promote the introduction of self-reliant and distributed energy facilities that simultaneously realizes local disaster prevention/mitigation and low-carbonization is a national project, it is planned to introduce only the equipment that is necessary for the facility.
Sixty percent of the schools that serve as evacuation sites have emergency power generators. But actually...
Next is school. In Japan, more than 90% of public elementary and junior high schools are designated as local evacuation centers. More than 60% of public elementary and junior high schools have emergency generators in case of emergency. However, many of the emergency generators are used to operate the fire pumps, and cannot be used to secure lighting or power.
Tsumagoi Junior High School in Gunma Prefecture will also be an evacuation facility that can accommodate 250 people in the event of a disaster. Tsumagoi Village was severely damaged by a large typhoon in 2019, but many people who evacuated said they wanted to just charge their smartphones.
In the renovation of the facilities, about 900 lights in the school have been changed to LED, and the ceiling has been insulated to save energy. The most popular among the students was the conversion of the gymnasium to LED lights. Compared to conventional mercury lamps, it is said that the inside of the gymnasium has become about twice as bright.
The change from mercury lamps to LEDs had several operational advantages. Mercury lamps were only able to ``turn on/off the lights in the entire gymnasium'', but after changing to LEDs, it is now possible to ``turn on only a portion of the lights''. became. In addition, a dimming type is adopted for the LED lights in the gymnasium. If there is a power outage during a disaster, it is possible to use the stored electricity for a long time by reducing the brightness (power consumption).
The hospital has also been renovated to provide a lifeline and emergency medical care in the event of a disaster
A hospital is indispensable in the event of an emergency, along with an evacuation site in the event of a disaster. Nishi-Azuma Welfare Hospital is one of the facilities participating in this disaster prevention measures renewal project. Nishi-Azuma Welfare Hospital is jointly operated by an association of four towns and villages located in the northwestern part of Gunma Prefecture: Naganohara Town, Tsumagoi Village, Kusatsu Town, and Nakanojo Town.
Because it is a facility called a hospital, it is absolutely impossible to cut off the power supply for equipment such as medical equipment. As a result, power usage from solar power and storage batteries is limited to lighting, electrical outlets, and some air conditioning. However, the facility itself is quite large as it is a large hospital, and the amount of power generated by the installed solar panels is as high as 368.5 kW. This is by far the largest amount of power generation among the four facilities we visited this time. In addition, the amount of annual energy cost reduction is also large, and it is said that it is a reduction of about 10 million yen per year.
Improving energy management by connecting to the cloud
This time, we visited four facilities that support the community in the event of a disaster, and each facility supports the same EMS (energy management system). increase. EMS can visualize power usage, so you can see when, where, and how much power is being used. It is an important system for stable and efficient operation and support for energy-saving activities.
By the way, equipment from multiple manufacturers is being used for the renovation of facilities and equipment in Agatsuma-gun, but Panasonic cooperated in planning, planning, and construction. We have also introduced Panasonic's "Emanage" for EMS. Since Emanage is an IoT type and can refer to data from the outside, it has the advantage of being able to check operational data from various perspectives.
At the beginning, I explained that the disaster prevention measures renewal project that I interviewed this time was realized by utilizing the Ministry of the Environment's "Project to promote the introduction of self-reliant and distributed energy equipment that simultaneously realizes regional disaster prevention/mitigation and low carbonization". However, let me give you an overview of the actual budget.
Taking Takayama Village Health and Welfare Center as an example, the total budget for renewal was 340,120,000 yen (approximately 340 million yen). On the other hand, the subsidy is 245,991,000 yen (about 246 million yen), about 75% of which is covered by subsidies. Furthermore, the budget of tens of millions of dollars, which is not enough for local governments' own funds, is covered by borrowing from the national government. Since half of the borrowed money is also appropriated from the government, it seems that as a result, disaster prevention facilities in the region were prepared with surprisingly little funds.
It is an attractive subsidized project for a small municipality with a small budget, but unfortunately it is not very well known. For local governments with disaster anxiety, it may be worth considering.