WILL JAPAN'S NEW RENEWABLE OUTLOOK HELP THEM SURPASS THE UNITED STATES?

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant

It’s going to be interesting to see what Japan’s renewable energy policy will be in the next few months, particularly as the citizens of that nation have become very uncomfortable with nuclear energy and a new prime minister takes charge.

In the wake of last March’s nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, then-Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced that Japan would be making a policy change away from energy produced by nuclear plants and fossil fuels to renewable energy and conservation. He made the announcement in May, at the end of the G8 summit.


Naoto Kan


As post-tsunami events continued to unfold, confidence in Kan’s performance fell. His government’s handling of the nuclear power plant issue played a big part even as he apologized for the nuclear crisis. "I believe the government bears a major responsibility for having promoted nuclear energy as national policy. I apologize to the people for failing to prevent the nuclear accident," Kan said.*



Yoshihiko Noda

Kan resigned his post on August 26 and Yoshihiko Noda was selected as his successor just four days later.

These events make me wonder what would U.S. government leaders do if a nuclear crisis of similar proportions happened here?

It is unclear if the new prime minister will keep to the path his predecessor promoted – the eventual closing of all nuclear plants in Japan. He has talked about a “balance” of energy sources. But at a news conference on September 2, he said he does envision a nuclear-free Japan.



Workers cleaning up after the Sunami

“I believe that the future will see a movement away from nuclear energy … once nuclear power stations have lived out their periods of usefulness, we will decommission them, and shall not build any new stations. That will be the basic flow of things. Alongside all of this, we will promote the development of new energy sources, the spread of alternative natural energy sources, and the adoption of energy conservation measures. We need to create a basic plan on energy following thorough and careful consideration. I also think that in order to do away with concerns among the public, I truly hope to realize a new best mix of energy sources. That is the mid- to long-term plan. The issue we currently face is exactly as I just stated. It will be impossible to reduce our reliance on nuclear energy to zero immediately, but I hope to discuss how to organize our society in such a way that we will be able to achieve this in time.”

The Japanese ARE moving ahead with renewable energy even as we speak. NPR reported on September 6 that Japan's newest big solar project opened last month in a suburb of Tokyo. It is made up of 38,000 solar panels set out on acreage the size of several football fields. On a sunny day it can provide sufficient power for over 2000 homes.



Japan sees a sunny future

Further, last month Japan's legislature expressed its dedication to renewable energy by agreeing to subsidize solar and wind power, requiring power companies to buy solar and wind energy at inflated prices. The plan is that this move will make it attractive for companies to invest renewable technology thereby speeding up the move away from nuclear. Japan could take advantage of offshore wind and tidal power too, by the way. (See the NPR story: http://www.npr.org/2011/09/06/140219721/after-nuclear-mishap-japan-debates-energy-future)

Will U.S. leaders take additional steps to speed up the mainstreaming of renewable energy or will it take a nuclear crisis in our own country to create a popular and political groundswell for its use?

The cards seem to be stacked against those of us in the United States who believe in clean energy. For example, the natural gas industry is running a mega-campaign to convince Americans that drilling for natural gas is “clean and green.” It isn’t. Further, the supply of natural gas underground in the United States will only meet demand for a few years while the damage done to the environment will be long-lasting. There is no corresponding advertising campaign about that.

And if you’re worried about jobs, how about this? According to Beyond Nuclear, one nuclear plant equals 2400 jobs and costs $40 billion to build. The equivalent amount of energy could be saved by retrofitting 1.6 million homes to make them energy efficient. The cost for that is half, or $20 billion and the number of jobs created is 220,000 or almost 100 times more than a nuclear plant.

Damage to people and the environment from the continued use of fossil fuels and reliance on nuclear power is just too great to continue business as usual. Other nations realize this – why don’t we?

The President agrees: "As we recover from this recession, the transition to clean energy has the potential to grow our economy and create millions of jobs - but only if we accelerate that transition. Only if we seize the moment," he said.



German Solar Farm

In Germany, policy makers have been moving toward renewables for some time. This is a quote from Philipp Rösler, Federal Minister of Economics and Technology: "The energy issue is very high on our policy agenda. With the new Energy Research Programme, we are implementing one measure of the energy concept and make an important contribution towards speeding up the move to a new energy policy in Germany. We need innovative and efficient energy technologies to ensure that the shift to the age of renewables takes place in a secure and affordable manner. Our new programme is providing a reliable policy environment for research and development. At the same time, we are supporting the business and research communities as they adapt to meet the major challenges of the 21st century."

Political leaders in Japan and Germany have heeded the outcry from their citizens. Do political leaders in the United States have the courage to move the country in the direction of renewable energy in a big way? They will if the public demands it.

*Japan has launched a private effort to assist the victims of the nuclear disaster. Called the Tsunagari Nukumore Project (it translates to unity, warms and cares), it is a program to provide relief to those still living in shelters via renewable energy. That includes electricity from solar power, hot water from solar thermal energy and biomass. The project is accepting donations online.

By Elvia Thompson
Communications & Public Relations

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