KITAGAWA Sakurako

Student, Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University

Sakurako Kitagawa became interested in decentralized energy systems after experiencing the Great East Japan Earthquake and the resulting power outages when she was in the third grade of elementary school.

The inconvenience of life without electricity, along with a sense of discomfort toward the structure of the current energy system, sparked her interest.

She studied energy from an engineering perspective at the Faculty of Engineering, Tohoku University. Motivated by a desire to consider energy issues from a more multifaceted viewpoint, she is now continuing her studies at Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Energy Science. Her current research explores whether decentralized energy systems—which require long-term investment recovery—can be economically and socially sustainable in regional areas of Japan, where population decline and decreasing demand are anticipated. She is also interested in how the traditional ways of life, cultural practices, artisanal techniques, and temples and shrines—passed down over generations in these regions—can be preserved and revitalized for the future. Her work focuses on the intersection of regional sustainability and decentralized renewable energy systems.