ИСТИНА

Against the background of global warming the construction of low-carbon, resourses-efficient buildings, creation of urban centers and whole regions meeting sustainable design are being increasingly recognized. Urban environment is a complex natural, social and economic system generated by anthropogenic and natural components. That is why the task to achieve sustainable design of urban environment needs, of course, an integrated approach but among the most evident ways to achieve it one could surely call the widespread installation of solar panels, embedding them into urban infrastructure. The Sun is a powerful inexhaustible (and free!) source of renewable clean energy. Solar energy is considered to be one of the most promising and rapidly growing sectors of the world economy. In line with the international trend of switching to renewable energy sources and as a consequence of the tragic events at Fukushima nuclear power station, Japan is experiencing nowadays a real “solar boom”. The distinctive feature about solar energy in Japan is the absolute predominance of individual photovoltaic installations which differs Japan from Europe and America. In the period ahead through the use of battery chargers and “smart” meters photovoltaic systems in Japan are expected to turn into a regular “household appliances” (though in line with the global trend towards solar megaprojects Japan is also building them up). This paper analyzes the peculiarities of solar energy development in Japan and its possible contribution to sustainable urban development.