Renewable Energy and Regional Value: Identifying Value Added of Public Power Producer and Suppliers in Japan

Renewable energy has been increasing its share and importance in the contexts of national energy security and global climate imperatives. The identification of local renewable economic benefits would form a basis to attract more attention to its development from investors and other stakeholders. After laying down the current literature and methods of evaluating regional economic impacts of renewable deployment, this paper identifies local benefits, subtracted as regional value added. Drawing upon a first-hand financial data-set, it highlights the importance of the local value chain and local ownership of regional economic enterprise to increase the opportunity for community wealth.