This paper presents an approach in support of spatial planning for renewable energy at the regional level. It aims to establish an elaborate and informative procedure, as well as integrated quantification and visualization, to support decision making. The proposed approach is composed of a set of sequential steps that include primary energy consumption estimation, renewable energy potential estimation, energy self-sufficiency analysis, and composite map preparation using Geographic Information System (GIS). GIS is used to analyze solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, and hydro-power potential within Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Potential sites are determined based on geographic, topographic, and land use constraints. Evacuees' population and forest radiation levels are specifically considered in the context of consequent issues emanating from Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis. Energy self-sufficiency analysis has been conducted for years 2020 and 2030. A composite map showing potential sites and their interrelation to the above renewable energy resources has also been presented. These results may support decision making in regional renewable energy planning, by providing information on regional potentials and restrictions to different energy stakeholders. This can help to build an energy developmental vision, which can drive regional energy development towards sustainability. The proposed approach can also be applied to other Japanese municipalities or regions. It provides an example on how to establish local GIS databases through the utilization of various online open GIS resources in Japan.

Following a regional-level study conducted in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan (Wang et al., 2014 [1]), this paper presents an approach for municipal renewable energy planning and its experimental application in a Japanese municipality using a Geographic Information System (GIS). The proposed approach is comprised of local issue identification, renewable energy potential evaluation and visualization, site comparison and scenario analysis. GIS was used to analyze and visualize solar, wind and biomass (forest and agriculture residue) potential within Kawamata Town, Fukushima, Japan. According to local conditions, all potential sites were coded and then compared based on different criteria, such as solar radiation, wind speed, slope and land uses, among others. In the scenario analysis section, two scenarios, "renewable energy prioritized" and "evacuation area prioritized", were adopted and compared. The scenarios are altered in terms of placement and the number of renewable energy facilities inside and outside evacuation areas within the town. The results generated through the proposed approach can provide information on local potentials of renewable energy resources, as well as renewable energy development alternatives at the municipal level. They can be used in the interactive dialogue for the municipal renewable energy planning process, to help to fulfill the municipality's post-earthquake energy developmental vision.

Abstract:The use of Renewable Energy (RE) is becoming popular for its clean and safe characteristics. The development of RE is also one of the crucial steps for the future sustainable development of energy resources. Nowadays, rural areas are facing issues such as depopulation and economic decline. How to find solutions to these issues while aiming to achieve sustainable development is a challenging task. Rural areas with RE in Japan and China have been established recently, and there are a few practical cases worth referencing. To identify key factors for RE promotion and its sustainability values in rural areas, this study presents two pioneer cases: Kuzumakicho in Japan and Chongming Island in China. Each of them stands for strong RE advancement in their home country and bears specific characteristics. Instead of a comparative study, this study examines the two cases as parallel case studies using a review of the literature, local plans, policy documents, and a questionnaire sheet with a SWOT analysis approach integrated in the methods. Key factors included municipal planning concepts and subsidies from national or regional governments among others, while contributions to sustainability include environmental education, local tourism, disaster prevention/mitigation, and waste re-use among others. In conclusion, the lessons learned and recommendations for future RE promotion in Japanese and Chinese rural areas are given.

Accelerating urbanization has led to shrinkage of natural habitats, intensification of landscape fragmentation, reduction of cropland and forest areas, and degradation of biodiversity. Against this background, considering ecological corridors are important linear structures connected habitat patches, thereby helping to enhance urban ecological resilience and protect biodiversity. A growing number of researches focus on the identification of potential ecological corridors and evaluate the relative importance of such corridors on the effects of connected habitat patches. However, among the evaluation process, previous studies ignored the linear structures of corridors, didn’t explore corridor width and construction form differences. Accordingly, this study used minimum cumulative resistance model (MCRM) to identify potential ecological corridors. After that, we designed the construction feasibility evaluation system for evaluating the relative importance of such corridors with different widths, and applied it with the rapidly expanding city of Chengdu in western China. The results show that internal characteristics of potential ecological corridors vary greatly under different widths. Using the construction feasibility evaluation system, we found that more than 75% of corridors in Chengdu are difficult to construct, and construction sequence has obvious differences under different widths, besides provided a reference for construction and the selection of width for potential corridors in Chengdu. This research highlights the importance of width selection in corridor evaluation, the construction feasibility evaluation provided reference information on identification, analysis, construction sequence and construction practices for urban ecological network spatial planning.

Accelerating urbanization has led to shrinkage of natural habitats, intensi cation of landscape fragmentation, reduction of cropland and forest areas, and degradation of biodiversity. Against this background, considering ecological corridors are important linear structures connected habitat patches, thereby helping to enhance urban ecological resilience and protect biodiversity. A growing number of researches focus on the identi cation of potential ecological corridors and evaluate the relative importance of such corridors on the effects of connected habitat patches. However, among the evaluation process, previous studies ignored the linear structures of corridors, didn't explore corridor width and construction form differences. Accordingly, this study used minimum cumulative resistance model (MCRM) to identify potential ecological corridors. After that, we designed the construction feasibility evaluation system for evaluating the relative importance of such corridors with different widths, and applied it with the rapidly expanding city of Chengdu in western China. The results show that internal characteristics of potential ecological corridors vary greatly under different widths. Using the construction feasibility evaluation system, we found that more than 75% of corridors in Chengdu are di cult to construct, and construction sequence has obvious differences under different widths, besides provided a reference for construction and the selection of width for potential corridors in Chengdu. This research highlights the importance of width selection in corridor evaluation, the construction feasibility evaluation provided reference information on identi cation, analysis, construction sequence and construction practices for urban ecological network spatial planning. 2012 to 2022, expansion was concentrated in developing countries such as low-and middle-income nations in