POWER February 2014 - 56

renewables
Japan Ramps Up Renewables
Already planning a major expansion of its renewable capacity, Japan has been
forced to redouble its efforts with the loss of its nuclear fleet after the Fukushima
Daiichi disaster. Though an array of obstacles stand in its way,
the nation hopes to triple its renewable output by 2030.
Thomas Overton
I
n 2010, intent on continuing its commitment
to energy efficiency and preventing
climate change, Japan enacted its second
Basic Energy Plan. The new policy document,
revising the first, from 2003, called for
dramatic increases in both nuclear generation
and renewable energy, all with an eye toward
reducing the nation's carbon emissions
25% below 1990 levels by 2020. Renewable
generation was to increase from 9% (almost
entirely hydroelectric) to 20% by 2030. Nonhydro
renewables would be supported by
expanding the existing feed-in tariff (FIT)
system, established in 2009 to support smallscale
solar photovoltaic (PV), to include
wind, geothermal, and biomass. An array of
other subsidies, credits, and tax exemptions
were planned to support the development of
new renewable technologies.
Japan has long been one of the leaders in
renewable energy, both in innovation and in
installed capacity. Its domestic solar PV industry,
led by electronics giant Sharp-then
the world's largest manufacturer of solar
panels-expected to supply growing demand
worldwide for many years.
Much of this changed on March 11, 2011.
Though Japan's nuclear industry sustained
the lion's share of the upheaval following
the Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami,
and the subsequent disaster at the Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear plant, those changes
have also forced Japan to reassess its plans
for renewable generation.
Much, however, has not changed. Japan remains
a nation with limited resources that must
import more than 90% of its energy needs. Its
economy, still the third-largest in the world, is
stagnant, mired in a two-decade period of flatto-negative
growth in GDP. But its manufacturing
sector remains one of the world's most
advanced, and strong government and social
support for energy efficiency means the nation's
electricity consumption has been level
for the past decade, with total generation for
2012 virtually the same as 2002 levels, according
to the Federation of Electric Power Companies,
the association of the country's 10 utilities
(though this also reflects the fact that Japan's
entire nuclear fleet remains offline).
Current Policies and Problems
The 2010 Basic Energy Plan, which was
scheduled to begin taking effect last year,
has undergone repeated revisions. The previous
government, led by the Democratic
Party of Japan, had planned for a complete
phase-out of nuclear by the 2030s combined
with an aggressive focus on renewables. The
new Liberal Democratic government, led by
1. Sunny skies. The 10-MW Komekurayama Solar Power Plant in Kofu, built by Tokyo Electric
Power Co., came online in 2012. Courtesy: Sakaori
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has backed away
from a nuclear retreat, saying in December
that nuclear would remain an important part
of the nation's energy mix and that Japan will
only seek to reduce dependence on nuclear
" as much as possible. "
The most recent draft policy envisions the
nation reaching 25% to 35% renewable generation
by 2030. The revised FIT system went
into effect in 2012 and sets fixed prices that
utilities must pay for renewable generation.
The initial tariff for solar-¥42/kWh ($0.40/
kWh) over a 10-year period for small systems
and over 20 years for those larger than
10 kW-was originally about twice that for
wind (¥23.10/kWh), though it was reduced in
April 2013 (to ¥37.8/kWh).
These generous subsidies, which are substantially
higher than those offered elsewhere,
such as in renewable-friendly Germany and
Sweden, have led to a boom in solar construction
(Figure 1), resulting in an estimated
5 GW of new capacity added in 2013. As of
July, the government had approved 23 GW of
new solar projects, nearly all of it since the
new FIT came into effect.
Still, there are substantial barriers in the
way of reaching the ambitious 2030 targets.
Perhaps the biggest challenge is where to
site all this space-intensive generation in a
mountainous country that is one of the most
densely populated industrialized nations in
the world. The lack of space elsewhere has
meant many new large projects are being
sited in the less-populated north, particularly
on the island of Hokkaido. The recent
crush of applications for power sales-
amounting to 25% of all projects approved
nationwide-has overwhelmed Hokkaido
Electric Power Co. (HEPCO), leading to delays
in processing.
The need to site so much generation so
far from population centers in the south has
also led to concerns about transmission capacity.
HEPCO complained last April that it
had received applications for four times as
much new capacity as its grid is capable of
handling. The problem is so acute that the
country's Ministry of Economy, Trade and
Industry (METI) has allocated nearly $300
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