Stricter guidelines means Japan installs less wind power
Tighter regulations on wind turbines have restricted construction in the past two years and the world's fifth largest greenhouse gas emittor has focused more on solar panels to help to fight global warming.
Japan accounts for only 1.6 percent of the world's wind power market, which is estimated to grow by a record 30,300 MW of installed capacity this year to a total of 152,000 MW, according to the World Wind Energy Association.
The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) said in the report that Japan's wind power installed capacity totaled 1,854 MW as of March, with 1,517 turbines.
The stricter guidelines, which stipulate that wind turbines must clear the same safety regulations that apply to tall buildings, were introduced in 2007 following a scandal over falsified engineering data for apartment blocks.
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Mark DePasquale, the founder and chairman of the company that owns the turbine, tried to reassure them with promises to address the bothersome conditions.
David Souza, a lifelong town resident who lives on Lowell Drive, showed videos of the repeated, flashing shadows cast on his home by the three blades spinning.
“I am a firefighter. I need to get my sleep,” he said. “And now it’s starting to affect my job. I’m…