A bill to mandate the recycling of solar panels was postponed from being submitted to the National Diet, prompting the environmental economic organization **Japan Climate Leaders Partnership (JCLP)** to publish a statement expressing strong concerns on September 18. The background to this is the expectation that the annual disposal of solar panels will increase to about 500,000 tons starting in the late 2030s. The government had been considering a system to mandate recycling, but difficulties in adjusting the cost burden led to the postponement. JCLP pointed out the need for the early establishment of a flexible and effective system for the effective use of resources, prevention of illegal dumping, and the creation of domestic employment. They stated their commitment to proactively work towards achieving both decarbonization and a circular economy. Additionally, they strongly urged the government to design a system that allows all power generation companies to participate in recycling, stating that there are limits to what can be achieved through the voluntary efforts of businesses alone. Furthermore, Environment Minister Asao announced a policy for reviewing the system at a press conference in August, explaining that consistency with existing recycling laws is a challenge.

In recent years, the soaring electricity prices, coupled with frequent natural disasters and power outage risks, have led many factories, warehouses, and stores to postpone considerations with the mindset of "we'll think about it someday." As a result, there have been numerous instances of operational halts and inventory losses during large-scale power outages, and many companies have faced annual cost increases of several million yen solely due to electricity expenses. However, the fundamental issue lies in a business model that ends with merely "buying electricity." The failure to utilize solar power and storage batteries as "company assets" by leveraging their own roofs and premises, along with the inability to fully utilize government and local subsidies, continues to generate increased costs and BCP (Business Continuity Planning) concerns. Currently, the generation cost of self-consumption solar power is expected to be less than 10 yen/kWh, and there are national subsidies (up to one-third) and high-rate local subsidies (between one-half to two-thirds) available for industrial solar power and storage batteries. Furthermore, our company has successfully established numerous self-consumption projects exceeding 100 kW and projects with storage batteries nationwide, achieving over 200,000 kWh in generation and electricity cost reductions annually. "Storage batteries × subsidies = assets, cost reduction, environmental conservation, BCP." The longer you wait, the more electricity costs and opportunity losses will grow. First, please check your company's dedicated investment recovery simulation based on your own roof and electricity bill details.