Japan hasn’t really got much use out of it’s golf courses in recent years. Nor has its society been too crazy about nuclear energy–especially after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. A “green” source of energy is looking like the way to go.
There was a golf boom in the 1980s, but now stretches of golf courses remain unused.
Kyocera, Japanese electronics manufacturers, has a plan that could help with both of these problems. 
By 2017, Kyocera plans to power some 8,100 houses. The first step in this process is 23 megawatt solar field in Kyoto prefecture–an abandoned golf course.
Kyocera plans to expand this project to the Kagoshima prefecture and create a 92 watt solar plant.It has aspirations of reaching 30,000 households. This project, however, is still on hold.
How many courses are there? Some 2,000. During the aforementioned fad in the 1980s, courses popped up quickly, but just as quickly fell out of fashion.
Kyocera has tried many ways of working with solar power, including water. Golf courses are the PERFECT place to build solar farms. The wide-open spaces receive plenty of sun. They are prime real estate for solar panel installation.
If this project is successful, perhaps other countries will follow suit.
The US had its own decline in golf course upkeep due to the 2008 recession.