<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/dec/31/japan-pivots-nuclear-power-maximisation-renewables>
"The stillness of a bitterly cold afternoon is broken by the swish, swoosh of
three 50m-long blades, adjusting automatically to the tiniest shift in the
direction of a dependable westerly wind that keeps them turning day and night.
From here, up on a mountain ridge in rural Fukushima prefecture in north-east
Japan, the wind turbines stretch for miles. In the distance, you can see the
outlines of the reactor buildings at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power
plant, which is in the slow process of being decommissioned at a cost so far
of $35bn (£26bn) almost 15 years since it suffered a triple meltdown after
being struck by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and a 15m (49ft) tsunami. Another
nuclear plant further south stands idle.
But the 46 turbines that make up the sprawling Abukuma windfarm – the biggest
onshore windfarm in Japan – could offer hope for a different future for the
region’s energy supply. Built at a cost of ¥67bn (£310m), the facility went
into full operation in April this year, weeks after Japan’s government
previewed its strategic energy plan as it aims to achieve net zero by 2050.
The plan has been controversial with campaigners because it ditches attempts to
reduce Japan’s reliance on nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster, calling
instead for a “maximisation” of nuclear power, which will account for about 20%
of total energy output in 2040: about 14 reactors have been restarted and the
assumption is that 30 will be in full operation by then.
The post-Fukushima nuclear closures of dozens of reactors forced the country to
rely heavily on imported fossil fuels: last year it was the world’s
second-largest importer of liquefied fossil gas after China, and the
third-largest importer of coal by volume. But the government’s energy plan
envisages a share of between 40% and 50% for renewable energy – compared with
just under a third in 2023 – and a reduction in coal-fired power from the
current 63% to 30-40%.
Fukushima plans to become a leader in renewable energy – a shift that would
have elicited derision before tsunami waves roared ashore on the afternoon of
11 March 2011, crippling the Daiichi plant’s backup power supply and triggering
the world’s worst nuclear accident since Chornobyl a quarter of a century
earlier. In its Renewable Energy Promotion Vision, the prefecture, home to 1.7
million people, aims to achieve 100% renewables by 2040, with a midterm target
of 70% by 2030.
“Everyone in the prefecture is determined to reach the target,” said Takayuki
Hirano of Fukushima Fukko Furyoku (Fukushima Wind Power Recovery), a joint
venture funded by nine companies and led by Sumitomo Corporation. “That’s why
there are so many subsidies available for solar, wind and other renewables. I
think we’re going to make it happen."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
