As other countries are rapidly shifting away from using coal for power generation, Japan continues to heavily rely on this fossil fuel. That said, pressure from abroad and other factors have contributed to changes in the Japanese government’s stance towards coal. This article explores the history of coal in Japan as well as the government’s …
Continue reading “Turning Point for Coal-Fired Power Generation in Japan”
Well into the fifth year of Japan’s deregulated electricity retail market, which opened on April 1, 2016, there’s a lot to look back and reflect upon, and there’s still much to be anticipated. We’re going to zero in on some interesting aspects of the winding road the market has taken so far. Hiccups, Haze and …
Continue reading “Japan’s Deregulated Power Market: Year Five”
Much activity – and much hype – has surrounded the push towards the adoption of hydrogen as a key fuel in Japan. Today we’re going to clear away some of the haze by zeroing in on several key aspects of what’s going on. Policy In December 2017, Japan’s “Basic Hydrogen Strategy” was approved by the …
Earlier this year we took a look at developments in Japan’s deregulated electricity market here on our blog, and it’s a topic we regularly cover in depth in our Monthly Market Monitor. Today we’re going to look at new structures the Japanese government is putting in place as part of the further development of the …
Continue reading “New Structures in Japan’s Deregulated Electricity Market”
Previously, we have looked at the general renewables landscape in Japan, as well as at solar generation, including the associated incentive schemes that drove its growth over the last decade. In this article, we’ll take a look at biomass – the third largest renewable power source in Japan’s generation mix. Biomass as a Part of …
Continue reading “The State of Biomass Power Generation in Japan”
With the Tokyo 2020 Olympics delayed for at least a year, we’re all going to have to wait a bit longer to see Toyota’s 3,700 vehicle fleet of battery-electric, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles prepared especially for use at the games, along with the hydrogen-fueled Olympic torch. In any case, that’s all more of …
Continue reading “Electric Vehicles and Power Storage in Japan”
At the end of May, Nikkei reported that the number of local government ordinances in Japan banning renewable power plant construction has reached about 60, double what it was in 2017. What could be driving this trend in a country where much of the populace is eager to move beyond its past dependence on nuclear …
As we’ve reported previously, the development of renewables in Japan thus far, although successful in bringing many gigawatts of new generation online, has been a bumpy process marked by many missteps and disappointments, and the road ahead remains filled with uncertainty. Among the variables with the potential to make or break Japan’s achievement of its …
Continue reading “FIT, FIP and the Future of Renewables in Japan”
The peculiar structure of Japan’s electricity grid is interesting enough to merit examination as a free-standing topic, which we’ve done in an earlier report. Today we’d like to get into the history of how Japan’s grid came to be structured the way it is, how the interconnections between grid zones have been utilized over time, …
In recent months, several developments have highlighted the uncertain future of Japan’s electric power generation mix. Worldwide supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19 have brought attention to the fact that Japan has only a two-week stockpile of LNG, a resource that fuels 40% of the country’s power generation. That has renewed anxiety about Japan’s perennial …
