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Jennifer Sklarew weighs in on Fukushima's solar future on contaminated land

In the recent October 10 Carbon Brief publication, assistant professor of energy and sustainability in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy Jennifer Sklarew weighed in on Fukushima's solar future on contaminated lands:

“A lot of these communities, I know, were looking for ways to revitalise their economy,” said Sklarew.
Once evacuation orders were lifted, however, residents in many parts of Fukushima were faced with a dilemma, she went on to explain. "Since that area was largely agricultural, and the agriculture was facing challenges due to stigma, and also due to the soil being removed [as part of the decontamination efforts], they had to find something else."

Jennifer Sklarew is also the author of “Building Resilient Energy Systems: Lessons from Japan”.

Read the full October 10 Carbon Brief here: https://www.carbonbrief.org/debriefed-10-october-2025-renewables-power-past-coal-legacy-of-uks-climate-change-act-fukushimas-solar-future/

Cover image information: Minamisoma Solar Park, a 60MW photovoltaic park operated by Sumitomo built by Toshiba and Taisei. Credit: Real Fukushima (https://real-fukushima.com/renewable-energy-in-fukushima/).

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