JAPAN FAILS WIND BUT WIND WON’T FAIL JAPAN

Originally posted May 6.
While Europe, India and China are building wind energy installations just about as fast as they can get them, Japan has not taken to wind energy.

Seems the utilities don’t like its intermittency. Or maybe they like nuclear power plants more.

Tetsunari Iida, executive director, Institute for Sustainable Energy: “[The utilities] act as regional monopolies, functional monopolies, and political monopolies…They are the rule makers and they make an effort to exclude wind power from their grid.”

The politically influential fishing industry has resisted Japanese offshore wind development, too.

As a result of Japan’s utilities’ and fishing industries’ influence, politicians have not instituted a significant New Energy requirement.

As a result of their reliance on nuclear energy, a recent earthquake shutting down their biggest reactors caused extended, widespread power outages and forced them back into reliance on coal and even oil.

As a result of their lack of a significant New Energy requirement and reliance on the nuclear power that failed them, Japan is failing to meet its Kyoto obligation for emissions reductions.

Japan’s solar incentives inspired the ones developed by Germany that today make Germany the world leader in solar. Japan has not followed suit by incentivizing wind.

The utilities’ resistance to wind has had one favorable effect. It has driven experimentation with battery storage. (See BATTERY TO STORE WIND)

Mainly, though, the utilities resistance to wind has driven Japanese New Energy companies out of the country. More than 60% of Eurus Energy’s 1,385 megawatts is outside Japan. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will build 1.36 gigawatts of turbines for U.S. companies. (Japan only has a total of 1.49 gigawatts.) Eurus and Mitsubishi, therefore, are fine; it is Japan that loses out.

Japanese wind energy advocates remain hopeful, however. Why? See paragraph 7, above: As a result of their reliance on nuclear and their lack of a significant New Energy requirement, Japan is failing to meet its Kyoto obligation for emissions reductions.

In the long run, the only sure way to face up to the unremitting inevitability of global climate change is to build New Energy. Or, as a champion boxer once said to his opponent, “You can run but you can’t hide.”

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Japan ‘s Wind-Power Problem
Dave Englander, April 23, 2008 (greentechmedia)

WHO
Japan’s wind energy industry; Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; Toshio Hori, president, Green Power Investment Corp.; Tetsunari Iida, executive director, Institute for Sustainable Energy; NGK Insulators; Eurus Energy; Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Japan seems to like nuclear better than the New Energies. (click to enlarge)

WHAT
While wind energy is booming in most of the world, growth has almost ground to a halt in Japan.

WHEN
- 2007: The U.S. built 5.2 gigawatts of new wind energy; Japan built 139 megawatts (1/38th).
- 2010: Renewables requirement = 1.35% of power generated.
- 2014: Renewables requirement = 1.63% of power generated.

China is putting a big bet down on New Energy, especially wind. (click to enlarge)

WHERE
- World leaders: Denmark (now getting 20% from wind with a New Energy goal in place for 20 years), Germany (now getting 6.3% from wind with a New Energy goal of 12.5% by 2010) and Spain (with a New energy goal of 20 gigawatts by 2010).
- Japan’s best wind resources are in the far north and far south.
- It also has significant offshore wind assets.

WHY
- Japan’s best wind resources are too far from population centers.
- It’s offshore assets are in ocean depths too expensive to develop.
- Japan’s reliance is maily on imported coal, oil and natural gas as well as nuclear power and some solar.
- 10 electric companies are regional monopolies (largest: Tokyo, Chiba and Kansai)
- NGK’s sodium-sulfur batteries store wind energy but not enough to make a difference and at too high a cost.

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QUOTES
Toshio Hori, president, Green Power Investment Corp.: “Japan’s windpower industry is not growing…The renewable targets the government has set for wind power are tiny in comparison to other countries. There are no incentives for companies to grow…I hope that the [policy] changes…”