Efforts of a Local Renewable Energy Business in Minamisoma: A Process of Revitalizing Local Society in the Area Affected by the Nuclear Power Plant Disaster

摘要

Since the occurence of the nuclear disaster of March 2011, which caused serious damage to the residents of Fukushima prefecture, many efforts have been made to revitalize the local society. The promotion of renewable energy under the Feed-in Tariff has been one of the symbols of this revitalization process. Not only local government measures but also citizen-owned renewable energy （RE） power businesses have been expanded. The institute of “Eco-ene Minamisoma” was established and it has been operating “Solarsharing” photovoltaic power plants （330kW）． This paper argues that the creditworthiness of local civil society is strengthened by the RE businesses. Moreover, focusing on the plural constitution of the above institute, I include in this study numerous stories of each member of the institute, rather than identifying the actions of this institute, alone, as a single big story under titles such as “FUKUSHIMA” or “Disaster Restoration,” using a method described as “polyphony.”