On September 26 2016, thirty-five members of Co-op Kobe took a tour of Nara Co-op Yoshino solar power plant to share awareness with the way people relate to the future electricity and the concept of renewable energy. The area visited by the members is also unique for purified sterile natural water springs that serve as mineral water supply to co-op members through the home delivery business.

At the site 3,472 sheets of solar panel have been arranged and the expected annual amount of power generation is about 792.836kWh, which is equivalent to the yearly electricity consumption of about 226 households.

The Nara Prefecture Higashi Yoshino area has been receiving electricity from a hydroelectric power project until it was abolished due to aging in 1963.

Currently depopulation has become a serious challenge in the area and for the purpose of vitalization, through the participation of the local Nara Co-op the hydroelectric power generation business is being revived for the first time in half a century.

The project will help promote regional development, raise awareness of global warming prevention and enhance the principal autonomy consciousness.

The tour helped participants deepen their understanding of the power generation, think about renewable energy and finally expressed their feeling of satisfaction for the opportunity offered them by Nara Co-op to see the site of a renewable energy production which is hard to inspect by the ordinary person.

Participants pose for a group picture after the tour