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 …
Perhaps unsurprisingly for a country known for its automakers, shipbuilders, and heavy industry conglomerates, steel production is one of the most important industries in Japan. What might be more surprising, though, is that when examined closely, Japan’s steel industry presents an interesting lens through which to view the country’s electric power industry. It does so …
Continue reading “Steel Production and Electric Power in Japan”
With US oil prices having gone negative for the first time in history this past Monday, it’s doubtful that there’s anyone left who hasn’t noticed the impact that COVID-19 is having on global energy markets. Such attention-grabbing headlines should not, however, distract us from the multitude of other ways that the pandemic is affecting energy …
Continue reading “COVID-19 Exposes Vulnerabilities in Japan’s Electricity Generation”
