Title: Energy consciousness and business opportunity after the 2011 disaster

Authors: Kazuhiro Fukuyo

Addresses: Graduate School of Innovation and Technology Management, Yamaguchi University, Tokiwadai 2-16-1, Ube, Yamaguchi 7558611, Japan

Abstract: The awareness about the energy security and acceptability of renewable energy has reportedly increased in Japan since the Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March 2011 and the subsequent nuclear power station accident. This situation gives business opportunities not only to SMEs and start-ups related to the renewable energy. The author focused on the spread of residential photovoltaic (PV) systems and analysed its social demand. The internet questionnaires conducted in 2012 and 2013 indicated that more than half of the Japanese people, especially the people living with the PV systems have enhanced their awareness of energy conservation and became more interested in the renewable energy after the 2011 disaster. However, the comparison between the 2012 and 2013 surveys shows signs of a fall in the renewable energy demand inhereafter.

Keywords: small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; entrepreneurship; business opportunities; renewable energy demand; Japan earthquake; energy awareness; energy security; nuclear power stations; nuclear accidents; residential PV systems; photovoltaics; solar energy; solar power; social demand; energy conservation; nuclear energy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2015.072758

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2015 Vol.26 No.4, pp.448 - 466

Received: 02 Oct 2014
Accepted: 17 Mar 2015
Published online: 28 Oct 2015 *

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