JAPAN SEES OLD ENERGY’S REALITY, TURNS TO NEW ENERGY

After Fukushima, Japan Finds Beauty in Solar Power; This is what happens when a country confronts the real costs of nuclear and fossil fuels

Will Oremus, November 12, 2013 (Slate)

"…The Kagoshima Nanatsujima Mega Solar Power Plant, built by the electronics manufacturer Kyocera, went online November 1and boasts postcard views of Kagoshima Bay and Sakurajima volcano. It’s also Japan’s largest, with a capacity of 70 megawatts…The $280 million project is part of a national effort to invest in clean, renewable energy as the country continues to grapple with the fallout of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The country’s new feed-in tariffs have made it one of the world’s fastest-growing solar markets…Most consumers think that sacrifice is worthwhile, and they say nuclear power has hidden cleanup and compensation costs that emerge only after an accident. Fossil fuels, meanwhile, release harmful greenhouse gases and must be imported from Australia, Russia, Indonesia and the Middle East…In other words, this gorgeous solar plant is what happens when a country comes face-to-face with the full societal costs of more traditional power sources…” click here for more

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