nuclear-news

Nuclear free future is looking like a better commercial option for Japan

a welcome step toward moving away from reliance on centralised nuclear power production to a model of dispersed electricity producers linked by a high-tech “Smart Grid”…..

 “The vested interests dominate a lot of the political process, but we are seeing a challenge from the local government level,” said Rikkyo University professor Andrew DeWit, adding that Son was also attracting interest from a range of companies and non-profits.

Sticking with nuclear could be costlier Japan option, By Linda Sieg, TOKYO  Jul 26, 2011, TOKYO (Reuters) – Can Japan afford to go nuclear-power-free? The country’s atomic power industry and many big business clients say “No”, arguing the step would boost electricity bills and pollution and hasten the hollowing out of Japanese manufacturing.

But the Fukushima nuclear disaster is galvanising a coalition of safety-conscious voters and future-minded companies who increasingly believe that Japan cannot afford to stick with the status quo if it wants to be globally competitive.

“Japan has a span of about a year to assert itself as a clear leader in clean energy, storage batteries, solar cells. They can compete, but they are no longer the only guys in the global game,” said Jesper Koll, director of equities research at JP Morgan in Tokyo.

“This is where government policy helps — it can create a domestic market that is captive and rich and creates jobs and puts Japan on the map as a global leader.”….

More than 70 percent of voters in a Kyodo news agency survey published on Sunday supported Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s call last month for a future free of dependence on nuclear power.

The vision has sent shivers through the nexus of political, business and bureaucratic interests dubbed Japan’s “nuclear village”,……

Kan has promised a blank-slate review of the 2010 national energy plan and vowed to promote renewable sources such as wind and power with a law that would require utilities to buy electricity from a wide range of sources through generous feed-in-tariffs — subsidies paid by end-users.

That law, originally conceived as a way to promote renewables as a replacement for fossil fuels rather than nuclear power, looks likely to pass in a week or two. Proponents see the legislation as a welcome step toward moving away from reliance on centralised nuclear power production to a model of dispersed electricity producers linked by a high-tech “Smart Grid”…..

“The vested interests dominate a lot of the political process, but we are seeing a challenge from the local government level,” said Rikkyo University professor Andrew DeWit, adding that Son was also attracting interest from a range of companies and non-profits.

Hiroshi Mikitani, president of online retailer Rakuten Inc (4755.OS), has defected from Japan’s biggest business lobby, the pro-nuclear Keidanren, out of pique with its opposition to opening the power industry to competition.

Electronics and IT firms are eager to help upgrade Japan’s power network to a “Smart Grid” needed to handle an influx of electricity from decentralised, fluctuating power sources such as solar and wind farms and construction firms are eyeing profits from designing and building “Smart Cities”.

Reactor maker Toshiba Corp (6502.T), for one, has said it would increase its focus on renewables and smart grids and in May announced it would buy Swiss smart-meter maker Landis+Gyr….

Sticking with nuclear could be costlier Japan option | Reuters

August 1, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Japan