nuclear-news

Japan’s nuclear lobby trying to keep nuclear power off the election topics

Japanese Professor: All the nuclear interests want to do is avoid making nuclear power a central election issue — Gundersen: Gov’t trying to frighten public  http://enenews.com/japanese-professor-all-the-nuclear-interests-want-to-do-is-avoid-making-nuclear-power-a-central-election-issue-gundersen-govt-trying-to-frighten-public 
 September 6th, 2012 
By ENENews Title: Japan stresses cost of ending nuclear power as decision loomsSource: REUTERSAuthors: Linda Sieg and Aaron Sheldrick; Additional reporting by Risa Maeda, Kentao Hamada and Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Robert Birsel

…..a forecast [by Japan’s government said] that household energy bills would by 2030 rise by nearly double 2010 levels if Japan abandoned nuclear power.

But that has been disputed.

[…]

Predictions that power bills would double fail to take into account people’s efforts to cut energy use, other experts said.

[…]

Some experts said those figures were not only too high but also underestimated the positive economic impact of investment in renewable energy and conservation.

[…]

Given the deep divisions on the issue, political parties are eager to defuse it, most likely with vague promises, analysts said.

[…]

Arnie Gunderson, a veteran U.S. nuclear engineer and director of Fairewinds Energy Education Corp

• “It is wrong and clearly designed to frighten the population to continue using nuclear power plants”
• “What will dramatically increase electric bills is the true cost to clean up after the (Fukushima) Daiichi disaster”

Hiroshi Komiyama, chairman of Mitsubishi Research Institute

• “Our estimate is that households will use 60 to 70 percent less electricity by 2030″
• “Our calculation is that households would pay less than half of the current payments by 2030″

Renewable energy guru Tetsunari Iida, head of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies

• “[Gov’t claims are] very reasonable because it assumes quite expensive renewable costs”
• “Also, such investment would stimulate the economy, but they are assuming that it is a burden”

Koichi Nakano, a professor at Sophia University

• “Vested interests, on the one hand, and the more unorganised public opinion are going in different directions”
• “All they want to do is … avoid making it a central issue of the election”

September 10, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, politics