Development of a Regional Input-output Model for Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment of Renewable Energy

This study develops a Renewable Energy Focused Input-Output model for Region (REFIO-Region) to assess the environmental and socio-economic effects of the introduction of renewable energy technologies in a region. The development of REFIO-Region consists of the following two-step process. First, input-output tables for 1,741 municipalities in Japan (intra-regional tables) is created using national and 47 prefectural input-output tables as well as various statistics such as the economic census for business activity. Second, the 1,741 municipalities are classified into two arbitrary regions to form an inter-regional table, and sectors related to renewable energy technologies are combined to construct an inter-regional input-output model, that is, REFIO-Region. It represents in detail the industrial structure of Japan's 1,741 municipalities and the technological structure of 12 renewable energy technologies, enabling in-depth analysis of the effects of the introduction of these technologies at the regional level. Using REFIO-Region, a case study is conducted on the regional economic effects of introducing wind power generation in the Kumamoto Collaborative Core City Region, Japan, which consists of 18 municipalities. The results of the case study reflect the characteristics of both the wind power generation and the region in which it is introduced, indicating the usefulness of the model.