In Japan, energy security fears put nuclear back in favour for 2040 plan

Japan is set to push for more nuclear power in an energy policy upgrade due next year, looking for steady electrical energy supply in face of growing need and increasing geopolitical dangers, however is most likely to have a hard time to fulfill its targets, market professionals state.

The country slashed reliance on nuclear power after the Fukushima catastrophe in 2011 and increased usage of fossil fuels to generate 70% of its electrical energy, even as it set out to cut carbon emissions to net zero by 2050.

But having actually faced coal and gas rate spikes and supply interruptions in 2022 due to Russia's war on Ukraine, the federal government wants to secure higher usage of atomic energy, along with wind and solar power, to secure stable energy supply.

The focus has actually moved far from carbon emissions to energy security. Energy security has actually always been necessary for Japan, however a lot more so now because there were a lot of difficulties with the lack of melted gas, expensive LNG, absence of supply, stated Alex Whitworth, vice president at experts Wood Mackenzie.

Any shift to enhance nuclear power by the world's. second-biggest importer of LNG and a significant buyer of thermal coal. will hit exporters of those fossil fuels, consisting of Australia,. Qatar, the U.S. and Indonesia.

Conversations on Japan's energy policy, which is modified every. 3 years, began last month. This is the very first revision given that. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida moved the country's stance to. favour nuclear power in 2022.

The overwhelming majority of the members of the panel that. debates the policy are pro-nuclear, and the new policy may. include building new reactors, said Takeo Kikkawa, president of. International University of Japan.

It is unclear how the 2030 energy mix target of 20% -22%. nuclear will change for the next target year, likely 2040. But energy business and industry are progressively calling for. greater use of nuclear power as geopolitical stress raise the. threat of energy supply disturbances and power cost walkings.

We look for information in the next energy plan on increasing. nuclear power use for energy security and decarbonisation, and. on the requirement to replace and develop new reactors to fulfill increasing. electrical energy need, stated Kansai Electric Power,. Japan's biggest operator of nuclear energy.

The government has said the nation may need to broaden power. output by up to 50% by 2050 as demand increases from semiconductor. producing plants and data centres.

HARD TASK

Meeting growing electrical power need with nuclear power will. be challenging, due to regulative hurdles, public opposition,. high costs, extreme earthquakes and long development timeframes,. academics and energy experts stated.

The country is likely to fall short of its 2030 target for. nuclear power, reaching just 15% due to resistance from local. homeowners and sluggish approvals by regulators for restarting. existing reactors, Kikkawa stated.

Adding brand-new nuclear capability could be difficult even by 2050,. he stated, given that in the past it has taken years to build. nuclear plants.

Thermal power would likely need to fill the supply space, he. and WoodMac's Whitworth said, contrary to the federal government's aim. to cut coal- and LNG-fired generation to a combined 39% of the. mix by 2030.

The nuclear power target is the most impractical because. it's really outside of the federal government's control to be able to. reach that target due to the requirement for getting local approval for. restarts ... So there's a big upside for coal and gas,. Whitworth stated.

While modifying energy policy, Japan prepares to set a. greenhouse gas emissions decrease target for 2035 or later on and. formulate a decarbonisation method for 2040 by early next. year.

Speeding up renewables growth and reducing fossil fuel. generation will assist attain those objectives and lower costs.

The Japanese economy has been hit hard by nonrenewable fuel source. prices over the previous two years, stated Yukari Takamura, teacher. at the University of Tokyo's Institute for Future Initiatives.

Takamura, a member of the federal government's energy policy panel,. states Japan ought to set out a roadmap on how to phase out unabated. coal-fired power plants.

It's in the nationwide interest to promote domestic. production of energy with renewable resource, she stated, including it. would improve the competitiveness of Japanese companies that are. being measured on decarbonisation elements.

(source: Reuters)