Renewable power, not nuclear power! Sounds good, but can it be accomplished? Japan has taken a big step toward making electricity from renewable sources practical--supporting the development of a storage battery for the proverbial rainy day.
Here's how Jiji news in The Japan Times online reports the new development:
Big battery eyed as green energy cure
Six-story Hokkaido cell to keep power flowing on dark, windless days
JIJI
Sep 25, 2013
Japan will build the world’s largest storage battery system in Hokkaido as early as this autumn in a bid to rectify fluctuations in the electricity produced by renewable energy sources.
The project is aimed at promoting renewable energy by addressing a key defect — inconsistent power generation.
The nation’s utilities are required to buy electricity generated by solar, wind and other green power sources at fixed prices under the feed-in tariff system introduced in July 2012.
But the electricity generated by such sources accounts for only 1.6 percent of the nation’s total, partly because solar and wind power are dependent on the vagaries of the weather.
To raise renewable energy’s role the national energy mix, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry pushed for the development of a large storage system that would store electricity when weather conditions are favorable and dispense it when the weather fails.
Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. and Hokkaido Electric Power Co. are leading the storage project, and the ministry has provided ¥20 billion to cover all development and manufacturing costs.
“A subsidy in full is the exception of exceptions,” a senior METI official said.
2013年9月26日木曜日
2013年9月25日水曜日
Sounds True
This is what was said about nuclear power at the Japan Foreign Correspondents' Club and reported in The Japan Times online:
Ex-top U.S. nuclear regulator counsels end to atomic power
by Kazuaki Nagata
Staff Writer
Sep 24, 2013
The ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 plant is a sign that the world needs to seriously rethink nuclear safety and consider possibly ending its dependence on atomic power, the former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday in Tokyo.
“When you look at what happened around the Fukushima Daiichi (No. 1) area, it’s simply unacceptable,” as tens of thousands of people have been unable to return to their homes due to radioactive contamination, said Gregory Jaczko, who served as the top U.S. nuclear regulatory official for nearly three years until July 2012.
Given that Japan is extremely prone to earthquakes and tsunami, among other disasters, using nuclear power poses serious risks unless some kind of new technology is created to completely eliminate the possibility of severe accidents, Jaczko told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.
However, Jaczko also said that creating such zero-risk technology is next to impossible.
Instead, Jaczko said, he hopes Japan pours its resources and energy into coming up with ways to function without atomic power.
“I think the Japanese people have the ability to do that,” he said.
Ex-top U.S. nuclear regulator counsels end to atomic power
by Kazuaki Nagata
Staff Writer
Sep 24, 2013
The ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 plant is a sign that the world needs to seriously rethink nuclear safety and consider possibly ending its dependence on atomic power, the former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday in Tokyo.
“When you look at what happened around the Fukushima Daiichi (No. 1) area, it’s simply unacceptable,” as tens of thousands of people have been unable to return to their homes due to radioactive contamination, said Gregory Jaczko, who served as the top U.S. nuclear regulatory official for nearly three years until July 2012.
Given that Japan is extremely prone to earthquakes and tsunami, among other disasters, using nuclear power poses serious risks unless some kind of new technology is created to completely eliminate the possibility of severe accidents, Jaczko told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.
However, Jaczko also said that creating such zero-risk technology is next to impossible.
Instead, Jaczko said, he hopes Japan pours its resources and energy into coming up with ways to function without atomic power.
“I think the Japanese people have the ability to do that,” he said.
2013年9月22日日曜日
Which is scarier, the news that Japan launched an aircraft carrier on the de-facto national peace day in August, or the fact that our relatively chemical-free, labor-intensive, and totally delicious agricultural sector will be flattened under the Monsanto steamroller? Because that is what opening our "politically sensitive" food lifeline will entail.
Here's what The Japan Times online edition reported today:
Move pressures Japan to open up farm sector
Four TPP members offer to kill all tariffs
Kyodo
Sep 21, 2013
WASHINGTON – Four of the countries negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership initiative are offering the other members total tariff elimination on all agricultural and industrial goods, a source close to the talks said.
The move by Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Chile is likely to put pressure on Japan, the second-largest of the 12 TPP economies, to open up its politically sensitive agricultural market, the source said Friday.
Here's what The Japan Times online edition reported today:
Move pressures Japan to open up farm sector
Four TPP members offer to kill all tariffs
Kyodo
Sep 21, 2013
WASHINGTON – Four of the countries negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership initiative are offering the other members total tariff elimination on all agricultural and industrial goods, a source close to the talks said.
The move by Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Chile is likely to put pressure on Japan, the second-largest of the 12 TPP economies, to open up its politically sensitive agricultural market, the source said Friday.
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