Welcome to European Tribune. It's gone a bit quiet around here these days, but it's still going.
Display:
European Salon de News, Discussion et Klatsch - 3 March | 70 comments (70 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)
Re: Living off the Planet (none / 1)
Fukushima's Legacy: What Future Does Nuclear Power Have in Japan? - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International
Almost a year after the Fukushima disaster, 52 of Japan's 54 nuclear power plants have been shut down. The reactor explosion destroyed the population's trust in nuclear energy. But the atomic lobby -- and the country's industrial needs -- could block a possible phase-out.


*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Fri Mar 2nd, 2012 at 01:42:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Living off the Planet (none / 0)
What's the wind, geothermal and hydro resource in Japan ?

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sat Mar 3rd, 2012 at 03:07:02 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Living off the Planet (4.00 / 2)
Apart from hydro, which is 20% of the generating capacity and supplies 10% of generated electricity, neither is much exploited. At the end of 2011, total installed wind power stood at a measly 2,501 MW, of which an even less impressive 168 MW was installed anew that year. From the early nineties until the early 2000s, Japan was the leading solar power developer, when a one-million-roofs program created a big market that helped Japanese companies become the industry leaders. Growth in this sector picked up again only after the 2009 introduction of a feed-in law, in 2010, 991 MW was added to reach a total of 3618 MW. I didn't find data for 2011, however, after Fukushima, total installation targets were raised significantly.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Sat Mar 3rd, 2012 at 06:54:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Living off the Planet (none / 1)
Mitsubishi has been making utility-scale wind turbines for two decades, but hardly been able to install in Japan, where the emphasis was on the sweet silent power of the splitting atom. There are other OEMs as well.

The resource on land is strong enough, but will involve wholesale changes to the way projects are sited and permitted. But Japan is already making a huge effort to go offshore, though stupidly.

They want to overtake Norway as the leader in floating wind, especially since they don't have any shallow waters like the North Sea. This will eventually become a very strong global technology, but one that will take some time to evolve to maturity, if not longer.

So they should accent onshore, but... (yuk, technology in nature).

1 Gigawatt floating offshore is the near term goal. Good for some of the firms working on the technology, but why not develop an industry where the risks are small and known? Rioght.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Sat Mar 3rd, 2012 at 08:51:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Living off the Planet (none / 0)
The resource on land is strong enough

Are suitable areas not more limited due to the high population density, though?

They want to overtake Norway as the leader in floating wind

Would present-day state-of-the-art off-shore turbines withstand hurricane-force winds?

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Sat Mar 3rd, 2012 at 09:36:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]

European Salon de News, Discussion et Klatsch - 3 March | 70 comments (70 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
Display: