In Gunma Prefecture, around two hours from central Tokyo, the 27-hole Minohara Country Club is expected to undergo one of the most striking transformations. Kamisato Kensetsu, a construction and real-estate company that also develops solar projects, bought the property in 2025 and plans to install a 152-megawatt solar facility across the site.
The golf club is expected to remain operational while environmental assessments and other planning procedures continue. The company plans to close the course in 2030, when construction of the solar project is scheduled to begin.
The project illustrates a growing challenge confronting Japan’s energy transition: finding enough land for large renewable-energy developments in one of the world’s most densely populated and mountainous countries.
According to Bloomberg, former golf courses have emerged as particularly attractive locations because they often offer relatively open land, gentle slopes, road access and connections to nearby electricity infrastructure.
Analysis of BloombergNEF data shows that roughly 9% of Japan’s utility-scale solar capacity, counting projects of 0.9 megawatts or more, is already located on repurposed golf courses. At least 1 gigawatt of additional solar capacity that has been announced or is under construction is also planned on golf-course sites, representing roughly 10% of the current project pipeline.
From golf boom to clean-energy transition
Japan built large numbers of golf courses during the economic boom of the 1980s, when golf and resort development became symbols of corporate wealth.
But participation has declined over the decades, particularly in rural areas struggling with ageing and shrinking populations.
Minohara Country Club reflects that trend. Despite charging around ¥5,000 for a full day of unlimited play, the course attracts relatively few customers and loses more than ¥2 million annually, according to Kamisato Kensetsu representative director Daisuke Toya, as quoted by Bloomberg.
For renewable-energy developers, struggling golf facilities can therefore provide something increasingly difficult to find in Japan: large pieces of already-developed land suitable for solar panels.
Some of Japan’s biggest solar installations have already been built on former golf courses, including a major facility in Okayama Prefecture.
Fukushima accelerated Japan’s solar push
Japan dramatically expanded solar power following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, after the country shut down 54 nuclear reactors that had previously supplied around one-third of its electricity.
The government introduced a feed-in tariff programme guaranteeing favourable prices for renewable electricity, helping trigger a rapid wave of solar development.
Installations peaked around 2015 before slowing as incentives were reduced.
That slowdown presents a challenge for Tokyo’s longer-term climate and energy targets. Japan is aiming for solar power to provide as much as 29% of its electricity by 2040, nearly three times its current share, while the country is targeting net-zero emissions by 2050.
Land use becomes central to Japan’s climate challenge
Japan may technically possess significant renewable-energy potential, but turning that potential into operating projects remains difficult.
Andrew Chapman, an associate professor at Kyushu University cited by Bloomberg, estimates that fully developing all technically suitable land for wind and solar could generate around 14 times Japan’s annual electricity consumption.
The obstacle is not simply theoretical availability. Large projects also require adequate sunlight, access to electricity grids, suitable terrain and sufficient distance from residential communities.
That is why struggling golf courses have become such valuable assets.
For Japan, the conversion of fairways into fields of solar panels represents more than a change in land use. It shows how the country’s climate transition is increasingly tied to decisions about how existing spaces can be repurposed without creating new environmental pressures.
As Japan pushes toward a larger share of renewable electricity, former golf courses may remain an important — if limited — bridge between the country’s economic past and its low-carbon future.