Daiwa House Industry Co. held a ceremony Thursday to mark the opening of residential quarters comprising 65 detached homes all equipped with solar panels and battery storages in Osaka Prefecture, aiming to be the first town in Japan that is self-sufficient in electricity.
Each home spread over a 17,000-sq.-meter area in the city of Sakai is installed with an information system that allows occupants to check on a tablet PC power generated from the photovoltaic panels, as well as electricity consumed.
The town also has electric vehicles for shared use that are charged by solar power panels on the roof of a community hall.
People started moving in in late March, according to Daiwa House.
The company is planning similar development projects in other parts of the country.