RSSJapan’s energy future
Apr 28
In the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and the nuclear disaster that ensued, the way in which Japan generates its electricity has come firmly back under the spotlight. As part of its response to the recent national catastrophe, the Japanese Environment Ministry now intends to recommend pushing forwards with wind power and other natural energy sources.
Prompted by these recent catastrophic events, the Japanese Environment Ministry has published a report that explores whether current energy generation arrangements make sense when compared with energy sources such as wind and solar. Published on 21st April 2011, the report outlined how the amount of electricity that could be generated from wind power was equal to that currently produced by 40 of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors. Even if wind turbines aren’t always operational, or are subject to technical or land-use restrictions, they can still rival the energy output currently offered by nuclear, according to the ministry’s data.
The report also took the implications of the feed-in tariff system and other new policies that promote renewable energy into account, and based its projections on an assumed 24% utilisation rate. It concluded that wind power could generate between 24 million and 140 million kilowatts of energy. Whilst there are some practical issues associated with wind power, it could still deliver a surplus of electricity in certain regions. At the moment, however, it looks like implementing wind power generation on a large scale remains a logistically unappealing proposition.
The ministry also looked at the potential of solar power generation and small-scale hydroelectricity operations, but found that these energy sources weren’t able to supply the amount of power Japan needs.
At this stage, it’s too early to determine exactly what impact the Fukushima nuclear disaster has had on the environment and on the population, but if the evidence points to wide-ranging negative effects, this may well give additional momentum to those parties that support renewable energy projects and help motivate Japan and other countries to pursue a more sustainable programme of energy solutions.
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