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Renewables: Japan can afford to be more ambitious

April 10, 2015

EDITORIAL: A more ambitious renewable energy target is feasible

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/views/editorial/AJ201504100031

 

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is considering an energy policy target of raising the renewable energy share in Japan’s overall energy mix to the lower half of the 20-percent range by 2030.

The ministry is expected to make a formal decision before this summer on the composition of energy sources 15 years down the road.

The government’s Strategic Energy Plan, approved last year, called for increasing the ratio of renewable energy to a level above 20 percent. The target set in 2010 before the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was about 20 percent.

This modest rise in the target cannot be a sign that important lessons from the nuclear disaster have been learned and absorbed.

With 15 years still left until 2030, the ministry should consider an additional increase in the target.

At the same time, the ministry stresses the advantages and necessity of nuclear power generation and plans to set a target of around 20 percent for the future share of nuclear energy.

The harrowing accident at the Fukushima plant brought to light the fact that nuclear power is a highly unstable and costly power source in Japan, which is prone to natural disasters including earthquakes.

To raise the rate of self-sufficiency in energy supply without depending on nuclear power while trying to stop global warming, it is vital to make renewable energy a major power source as quickly as possible.

There are, of course, many challenges that must be overcome to promote renewable energy.

Sufficient measures should be taken to prevent sharp rises in electricity rates because of the huge costs needed to finance the feed-in-tariff system that requires utilities to buy electricity generated with renewable energy sources at fixed prices. Big expenses are also required to develop power transmission networks to send electricity produced in areas fit for renewable power generation to areas where power is consumed.

Still, there are many steps the government can and should take to increase the use of renewable energy.

It should promote, for instance, operational technology to adjust output fluctuations in renewable power generation, which is susceptible to natural conditions, and support the development of new materials to raise the efficiency of solar panels. More policy incentives should also be given to promote cogeneration systems for efficient heat utilization and micro-power generation for local consumption.

The government should map out more specific plans to promote technologies and systems that are likely to make significant progress by 2030.

The way the decisions concerning the energy mix are made by the industry ministry alone is also questionable.

A report released on April 3 by the Environment Ministry contained an estimate showing the target for renewable energy could be higher than the one being considered by the industry ministry.

Industry minister Yoichi Miyazawa brushed aside the Environment Ministry’s estimate as “unfeasible.”

But Hidefumi Kurasaka, a professor at Chiba University who chaired the Environment Ministry’s working group that produced the estimate, tweeted, “Reading the report shows you (Miyazawa’s argument is) clearly wrong.”

Both ministries are working on the issue by using taxpayer money. The government should clearly explain to the public what kind of differences there are between the two sides and which claim is more reasonable.

The government should also make more serious efforts to develop a fair and unified view on the issue.

We suggest that members of the Environment Ministry’s panel be invited to take part in the industry ministry’s decision-making process on the energy mix.

A major reform usually entails bearing a new burden. Whether the burden is justifiable depends on the benefits to be gained.

Japan has learned bitter lessons from the nuclear accident and strongly felt the need to switch from nuclear power to renewable energy.

No matter how difficult making this shift may be, returning to the old energy regime before March 11, 2011, is no option.

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 10

 

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