Comments
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government on Friday approved a new energy policy that sees nuclear power as an important source of electricity, and reversing the previous administration’s plan to phase out nuclear power.
The Basic Energy Plan describes nuclear power as an “important base-load power source” that is cheap in terms of operation costs and can generate electricity through the day.
The move comes as Abe has moved to reactivate idled reactors. All of the nation’s 48 reactors have been suspended amid public fears about nuclear power following the 2011 atomic accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
Kyushu Electric Power Co is likely to get safety clearance for its nuclear power plant on the southern island of Kyushu, local media reported on Thursday.
Japanese regulators are expected to allow the operator to restart two reactors at the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in Kagoshima prefecture, 1,100 km south-west of Tokyo, broadcaster NHK reported.
Japan’s new energy policy nullifies a nuclear phase-out plan approved by the previous Government following the disaster at Fukushima, which was caused by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
About 130,000 residents have been forced to leave their homes due to radioactive contamination in areas surrounding the plant.
Environmentalists criticised the reassertion of the role of nuclear energy in Japan’s power mix.
“We express our strong regret over the fact that the energy policy was decided as if the nation had not gone through its worst nuclear accident,” Friends of the Earth Japan said.
Nearly 90 per cent of about 90,000 written opinions submitted to the DPJ-led government in 2012 supported the phase-out plan, the group said.
Abe’s government “repeatedly ignored public opinion,” it said.
The Government has not specified the future energy composition in the new plan. But Tokyo said it is seeking to introduce renewable sources of energy “far above” the former target of about 20 per cent by 2030.
Before the 2011 disaster, nuclear-generated electricity made up about 30 per cent of Japan’s output and the Government was aiming to raise the figure to some 50 per cent by 2030.
Vast quantities of fossil fuels have been imported for the thermal plants brought online to compensate for the idled nuclear reactors.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.