By Yuka Obayashi
TOKYO- Japan wants renewable energy to account for up to 50 percent of its electricity mix by fiscal year 2040 with nuclear power taking up another 20 percent, according to a draft of its revised basic energy policy, as it makes a clean energy push while meeting rising power demand.
As the world’s second-largest importer of liquefied natural gas and a major consumer of Middle Eastern oil, Japan and its basic energy plans are drawing global attention from oil, gas and coal producers.
Thermal power usage, particularly from inefficient coal-fired power plants, is set to decrease to between 30 percent and 40 percent by 2040 from 68.6 percent in 2023, although the draft energy policy does not specify the breakdown of coal, gas and oil.
“It is necessary to utilize LNG-fired power as a realistic means of transition, and the government and the private sector must jointly secure the necessary long-term LNG contracts in preparation for risks such as price hikes and supply disruptions,” the draft said.
The industry ministry’s policy draft unveiled on Tuesday proposes increasing renewables to between 40 percent and 50 percent of power supplies in the 2040 fiscal year, roughly doubling the 22.9 percent share in the 2023 fiscal year and exceeding the 2030 target of between 36 percent and 38 percent.
Japan’s 2040 nuclear power target is in line with the 2030 target of between 20 percent and 22 percent, despite the challenges faced by the industry after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Nuclear power accounted for 8.5 percent of the country’s power supply in 2023. – Reuters
