generalspeaking

A Step Backward in Sourcing Energy for Japan

"Japan touts a low-emissions Olympics, but in the very same year, it will start operating five new coal-fired power plants that will emit many times more carbon dioxide than anything the Olympics can offset."
Kimiko Hirata, director, Kiko Network, climate action

"They say temperatures are rising. We've known that for a long time."
"It's time to do something about that."
Tetsuya Komatsubara, 77, resident, Yokosuka, Tokyo Bay

Japan speaks of its plans to transition to a more climate-resilient economy, with innovations such as roads to reflect heat. Organizers of Japan's upcoming summer Olympics have stated that electricity for the Games will be sourced from renewables in energy. The underlying reality appears somewhat at odds with this,  however, with its decision to re-invest in coal. To the extent that the country has made plans to build up to 22 new coal-burning power plants over the next five years, known to be one of the dirtiest sources of electricity.

There are 17 identified sites where -- in the following five years while the world is focused on carbon dioxide emissions in the fight against global warming -- those 22 coal-burning plants are meant to be situated. This return to a disputed and rejected old energy source, tried, true and reliable, but horribly polluting, comes as a result of the alarm raised over the Fukushima nuclear disaster of a decade ago, following an earthquake and tsunami. Where a design flaw in the reactor was the cause of the nuclear plant collapse.

"Why coal, why now? It's the worst possible thing they could build", commented a homemaker in Yokosuka, the identified site where two of the coal-burning units are to be erected. Altogether, the 22 power plants would result in emissions producing close to the annual carbon dioxide of all passenger cars sold in the United States. And how this situation reflects on Japan's efforts to portray its Tokyo Olympic Games as one of the greenest ever, is a mystery.

Kobe Steel power plant from an apartment balcony in Kobe. (Photo:Ken Kobayashi)

Environmental groups in Japan are accustomed to focusing their ire on nuclear power. With news of the coal-fired plants' impending construction, local residents have turned to taking the government to court over its approval of the new coal-burning plants, arguing that the plants' effect will serve to degrade local air quality, endangering communities through contributing to climate change.

Scientists in Japan attribute a heat wave that occurred in 2018, killing over a thousand people, to climate change. Heat concerns have led the International Olympic Committee to move the Tokyo Olympics' marathon events to a city that experiences cooler temperatures, about 1,100 kilometers north of Tokyo. In a Tokyo summer, residents strive to leave the city's hot, humid environment for temporary cooler environs. A Tokyo summer is hardly an appropriate venue for strenuous athletic events to take place.

Coal produces over a third of Japan's power generating requirements. Even while older coal plants will begin being retired to eventually reduce overall coal dependency, Japan still has expectations that it can meet more than a quarter of its electricity needs into 2030 from coal. Coal consumption has been on the rise for decades in the energy-deficient country, reliant on imports for most of its energy needs, and attempting to wean itself away from foreign oil imports ever since the 1970s oil shock.

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Japan's government feels the country's utilities must continue to invest in fossil fuels to ensure a diversification of energy sources and lessen dependency on any one type. About four-fifths of Japan's electricity needs are met with natural gas and oil. Renewal sources of energy led by hydropower produce about 16 percent. Up to a third of Japan's power generation was once provided by nuclear energy which has since plummeted in 2017 to 3 percent.

Scientists registered an increase in the temperature of waters off Tokyo representing over one degree Celsius over the past decade. The result of which is dwindling fish stocks. Local fisherman Tetsuya Komatsuhara, who operates a duo of small fishing boats diving for giant clams, can feel the rise in water temperature on his skin. He is concerned that the new plants would strike yet another blow to a fishing business already declining.

A coal depot at Sakata Kyodo Coal Power Plant in Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture: Coal could make up more than half of Japan's energy mix by 2030. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)

Labels: Coal, Energy, Environment, Japan, Nuclear, Power Plants

posted by Pieface @ Wednesday, February 19, 2020