Japan is one of the world’s highest consumers of energy, ranking about 5th in the top ten. It also has the unenviable reputation of having decreased its renewable energy percentage down to 10% from a healthy 33%. In the 1950s, one-third of Japanese power was sourced from hydroelectricity, with fossil fuels coal (50%) and oil (17%) making up the rest. Japan has always been reliant on the importation of fossil fuels to fire up its power stations, making it vulnerable to price rises and slumps.
During the 1960s, they embarked on a nuclear energy program, culminating in 54 nuclear power stations supplying about 30% of the total power needs. Then on 11 March 2011, disaster struck in the form of the Tohoku Earthquake, and an associated 15-metre tsunami, which resulted in a Stage 7 nuclear event at Fukushima nuclear plant. All nuclear plants across the country were shut down as a result and reliance on oil and coal increased.
Looking forward to 2030, it is planned to reach a target of 24% renewable energy, which is quite a modest figure, when one considers the various renewable options available. There are political forces at play, some of which are still pressing for nuclear, although Japan’s citizens are against it. The challenge is in commissioning the plant required for the renewable power generation and the time it takes to get the plant up and running. There
are other issues as well, such as the fact that there is no national grid, rather an eastern and western grid that operate at different frequencies so have limited interoperability.
So what renewable options can work in Japan? An FIT (feed-in- tariff) system has been set up to attract renewable power providers to provide solutions in return for a viable price per kWH, from any of the categories below:-
Firstly there is geothermal; the instability of the earth’s crust under Japan, which resulted in the Tohoku earthquake makes geothermal power a good solution, although it could cause further seismic disturbances. However, geothermal energy is generally unprofitable and requires large upfront investment.
Solar farms are gaining in popularity, and this is the growth leader in renewables.
Onshore wind farms are also being developed. There are plans for some offshore farms too.
Biomass generators have been installed at municipal dumps, and there are other sources, fueled mainly with wood chips.
The construction of small hydro power plants has been encouraged, especially in areas where the grids are undercapacitated.
The possibility of tidal energy is also being explored, but not yet being exploited.
Japan is bullish about its capability to implement renewable energy. The graph below is an excerpt from the 2017 Energy White Paper, published by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. If the momentum is maintained, Japan could be on the right track.
