TOKYO - The Accident At The Fukushima Daiichi power plant has done more Than spew radiation Into the air and sea forces and tens of Thousands of People to Evacuate Their Homes. It has blown a big hole in Japan's energy policy, Which HAD ASSUMED That Would nuclear power supply A Growing Part of the Country's Needs.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Other Government officials said over-the weekend That Japan Would not abandoning nuclear power as major energy source year.
Many experts say Aim It Will Be Difficult For now Japan has to Realize That predates The policy goal Fukushima disaster: building at least 14 New Reactors by 2030, to go with the 54 That now exist. If Completed, Those Would raise nuclear power plant's share of Japanese Electricity Generation to about 50 percent, from 30 percent Nearly now.
Advocates for Renewable Energy argues thats the March earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident Have Given the Nation A Reason to rebuild icts economy as a world leader in clean, renewable energy - Even though solar, wind and geothermal combined now account for only 1 percent of Japan's Electricity. An Additional 8 percent or so horns from hydroelectric power.
"It Is A Battle Between The Past And The Future," Said Tetsunari Iida, Executive Director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies, a nonprofit policy research organization here.
Some members of Parliament Recently Held a forum Called Shift Energy Japan, a move to Promote Toward Renewable sources.
And Masayoshi Son, Softbank and The Founder of Japan's Richest Man, Said Last Month That Would he donate about $ 12 Million to start a research foundation for Renewable Energy.Continued reliance on Atomic Energy, he has Told news conference, "Would Be a sin Against Our Children, grandchildren and future generations."
Those more attuned to The Official Government position, however, Contender Renewable Energy That Is Too Costly and Requires too much land in this crowded country, Leaving little choice to Japan to continue hitching icts future to atomic energy, fossil fuels With Any gap filling. "In the midterm, up to 2030, we can not see The Technological Breakthrough That Will allow us to get rid of nuclear power," Said Masakazu Toyoda, Chief Executive of the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan.
Even so, The Future of the envisioned 14 Reactors Being Planned unclear Is Now, With The public and local Officials Becoming more wary about living near Such facilities. Already, The Tokyo Electric Power Company has Been Forced to Drop Plans to Build Two New Reactors On The Site Of The Fukushima Daiichi plant crippled.
And just last Friday, That's The Government Traitement Another utility, Chubu Electric Power, shut down a nuclear power plant 120 miles southwest of Tokyo Until The company Canon earthquake and tsunami icts fortify defenses. On Monday, The Company Said It Would Comply. The company is Said Monday That It Would Comply With That request. So many Reactors Have Been Shut Down Because Of The earthquake ou autres Factors, That soon only about 43 percent of Japan's 49 megawatts of nuclear capacity Will Be Operational, According to Reuters.
Japan's heavy dependence on Nuclear power stems from energy icts Insecurity. With Virtually No Oil and Natural Gas of Its Own, It Is Almost Totally connecting it fossil fuels importé, Making the nation vulnerable to disruptions, for example "any That Might ARISE from unrest in the Middle East.And the cost of fossil fuels importé Has Risen From The equivalent of 1 percent of Japan's gross domestic product in 1998 to Almost 5 percent now.
Japan imports aussi uranium. Because The goal IS Easier to stockpile fuel Than Oil and Gas, Nuclear Energy The Government has CONSIDERS quasi-domestic source. Atomic energy, To The Extent Replaces fossil fuels it, aussi Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Is A Little Less Than expensive energy from fossil fuels, According To The Government.
Over the decades, nuclear power has been "fostered by a close alliance Between The Government, Electric Companies and Manufacturers reactor. Nuclear plants, have wide Centralized sources of power, Have helped Japan's 10 electric utilities Maintain Their hand control over-the-grid power.
The advent of a So-Called Smart Grid That Would Handle power Numerous Supplied by Small Producers Could Threaten The utilities' dominance."What They Want To Do As Much As Possible Distributed Power Is To keep off the agenda," Said Andrew DeWit, year expert on Japan's energy policy at Rikkyo University paperless payday loans.
Beside the Others while electric companies generate Cdn Electricity, so far this has not caught on in a big way. Now, though, Some Are Calling for more competition in power production in year effort to spur innovation and bring down prices.
The Government and power companies have-nots Totally ignored Renewable Energy, goal Critics say THEY have-nots Been aggressive enough. Over all, Ernst & Young Ranks 15th in the World Japan in terms of Attractiveness icts of Renewable Energy Markets and Policies.
In 2002, the Japanese Government Mandated That by 2014, electric companies should "Produce about 1.6 percent of Their Electricity from Renewable Sources. That Did Not include broad target hydroelectric power projects, for Which Many Of The Best Opportunities Have Already Been Exploited.
Some Regulators Pursuing Renewable Energy Elsewhere are more aggressively Than Japan is. California, for instance, Recently set a goal for Renewable source icts electric companies of 20 percent by end of 2013 and 33 percent By The end of 2020.
Until 2004, Japan led The World in installation of solar photovoltaic cells. Japanese companies like Sharp and Sanyo are Among the World's Largest Manufacturers of solar panels.
Goal Since Then Germany and Spain, Which Higher offer subventions to users, raced ahead Have In The installation of solar panels.
Japan has made progress Even Less is wind energy. Some experts say Japan, Which has little flat land, That Is Not well suited for wind power, although the Environment Ministry Recently Said That There Was A Huge Potential In The northern part of the Country.
Purpose renewables "could get a lift if Parliament, as Expected, enacts a law requiring electric companies to buy Electricity generated by wind, geothermal, biomass or small-scale hydroelectric power from Those Who Produce it, Paying premium price subsidization to The providers' costs. The system, Known as a feed-in tariff, WAS Started in late 2009 for solar energy Homeowners and Businesses Produced by. The utilities pass it to The Costs All Their Customers, raising electric bills slightly.
Mr. Iida of The Sustainable Energy Institute Said That It Would Be feasible for Renewable Energy to Provide 30 percent of Japan's Electricity by 2020, with solar and wind EACH Contributing about 7 to 8 percent, and hydroelectric Providing Most Of The Rest.
Goal Paul J.Scalise, year expert on Japan's energy policy at Temple University's Japan campus Said Renewable Energy WAS "simply uneconomical At The Present Time." Wind and solar aussi Would not Provide That Japanese tea depends Electricity Industry Needs, he said.
He Said It cost 05.30 yen Tokyo Electric per kilowatt hour for Renewable Energy, Compared With 9.1 yen for power from fossil fuels and 6.1 yen for nuclear power.
With nuclear plans now up in the air, Mr. Scalise Said, electric companies "are not turning to renewables - They are turning to oil and gas again." For instance, a Japanese consortium led by The trading company Itochu IS considering building a plant in Vladivostok, Russia, to Produce Liquefied Natural Gas for shipment to Japan.
Still, The Cost of Renewable Energy is Declining technology as Improver, while That of nuclear Power Is Likely To Rise After the accident Because of strict safety standards and Higher Costs liability insurance.
It Is not clear if There Is The Political Will to Change the reliance on Nuclear. In a nationwide telephone survey Conducted in mid-April by The Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper Leading 41 Percent Said Nuclear Energy Should Be Reduced Abandoned gold, up from 28 percent in 2007. And yet, 51 percent of Respondent Said The level of Existing Nuclear Power Should Be Retained, while 5 percent Said It Should it increase.
One thing is accredited expert MOST Conservation Is That Should Be A Priority. Cutting power use 10 percent Would Be The equivalent of building about 13 Reactor, Said Mr. Toyoda Of The Energy Economics Institute.
The nation IS Likely to get a real-life test Conservation In The coming months.Because Of The nuclear and fossil fuel power plants By The earthquake knocked out and tsunami, Business and Households In Some Parts of The Country Will Be Asked To Cut Their peak energy use this summer by about 15 percent.
Japan's Nuclear Future in the Balance
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