Despite facing a terrific nuclear disaster more than a decade back, Japan is now aiming to maximize its nuclear power. The country’s government has prepared a strategic energy plan that’s yet to be approved by the cabinet.
The document calls for a maximization of nuclear power. The plan is to operate 30 nuclear reactors fully by 2040. By then, the nuclear power is expected to account for about 20% of the country’s total energy output.
The plan, drafted by Industry Ministry, also aims to reduce coal-fired power from the current 70% to 30-40%.
No reduction in nuclear energy
Japan had adopted to phase out nuclear energy after the meltdown crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in 2011. However, the recent plan has dropped the reference to “reducing reliance” on nuclear energy that had appeared in the three previous plans. The new plan is expected to help to country to meet its net zero emission goals.
Aileen Smith, executive director of the Kyoto-based group Green Action, stated that nuclear plants are not where the Japanese government should be investing its money.
Smith also revealed that many nuclear plants are old, and the technology they use is even older. The costs of retrofitting are high, so even operating existing plants is no longer commercially viable.
Ageing reactors – those at least 40 years old – make up 40% of those in operation around the world, but only 20% in Japan, according to a recent study by the Yomiuri Shimbun. In the US, by contrast, 64 of the country’s 94 reactors – 68% of the total – will have been operating for at least 40 years by the end of the year, reported The Guardian.
Surge in the need for more electricity
To power its nuclear plants, Japan would have to import uranium from Australia or other countries. Japan is also expected to see a massive surge in the need for more electricity as the data centers and power-hungry facilities essential for operating growth industries like cloud computing and AI are on the rise.
Hokkaido Electric said it could meet this growing demand by restarting its reactors, while Google-owner Alphabet has thrown its support behind nuclear power to help decarbonize its sprawling technological empire, according to a report.
Nuclear advocates often argue that because these power plants don’t produce greenhouse gases during operation, they are essential in the fight against climate change. But these green credentials are challenged by those who point out that nuclear plants require huge volumes of water, produce toxic waste, and are vulnerable to natural and geopolitical disasters, reported ABC News.
For other countries, nuclear reactors could be a safe source for clean energy generation. Japan, which is vulnerable to powerful earthquakes and tsunami, had faced a Fukushima Daiichi crisis. Due to this, some argue that Japan could focus on alternatives to nuclear energy.
“Earthquakes are the biggest danger, and they could strike old or new reactors. The more reactors you have in operation, the greater the risk. It’s as simple as that. Retrofitting would mean spending huge sums of money on all those old reactors when the government could instead be putting its money into renewables,” said Smith.
