2 Coal-fired power plants to be built in Fukushima and 1 Wind turbine

…However, it is possible that the new power plants are a political project, sponsored and supported by the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe….

Valentin Mândrăşescu
30 November 2013

http://voiceofrussia.com/2013_11_30/Coal-fired-power-plants-to-be-built-in-Fukushima-3349/

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) announced its intention to build two advanced coal-fired power plants in Fukushima. Company officials claim that the new power plants will help the region recover after the nuclear disaster.

TEPCO promises that the new construction project will help fight unemployment by creating two thousand jobs and a source of cheap energy. The intended capacity of the power plants is 1000 MW. TEPCO estimates that the project will be finished in seven or eight years.

While Japan really needs cheap electric power, the plans to build two new coal-fired power plans in Fukushima prefecture were met with extreme skepticism. There are several issues with the project presented by the TEPCO CEO Yoshiyuki Ishizaki. One of them is the dire state of the company’s finances.

TEPCO has incurred huge losses after Fukushima disaster and still has a lot to pay in compensations to victims of disaster and for decontamination services. It also has to decommission the remaining units of the Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant and the costs of this operation will be substantial. A clear estimation of TEPCO’s future expenses doesn’t exist yet.

The company has been subjected to “stealth nationalization” by the Japanese government in order to prevent its untimely bankruptcy. It is hard to find economic sense in launching an ambitious investment project when the company is unable to service its debts without external help.

However, it is possible that the new power plants are a political project, sponsored and supported by the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Building a better and safer Fukushima power plants or at least promising to finalize such a project can increase Abe’s approval ratings that have suffered in the aftermath of the Fukushima debacle.

So, while TEPCO doesn’t have the expertise and the money required for the project, the Japanese government can provide both or at least ensure that private banks help TEPCO. It doesn’t make economic sense, but political expediency often trumps all other considerations.

Fukushima Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Starts Generating

…The Fukushima project follows similar projects with floating turbines in Norway, Portugal and Nagasaki in southwestern Japan. The Nagasaki project is backed by Japan’s environment ministry….

By Chisaki Watanabe

Nov 11, 2013

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-11/fukushima-floating-offshore-wind-turbine-starts-generating-power.html

A development to harness the power of the wind about 20 kilometers (12 miles) off the coast of Fukushima, site of the March 2011 nuclear disaster, began generating power on an operational basis today.

The project, funded by the government and led by Marubeni Corp. (8002), is a symbol of Japan’s ambition to commercialize the unproven technology of floating offshore wind power and its plan to turn quake-ravaged Fukushima into a clean energy hub.

“Fukushima is making a stride toward the future step by step,” Yuhei Sato, governor of Fukushima, said today at a ceremony in Fukushima marking the project’s initiation. “Floating offshore wind is a symbol of such a future.”

The 11-member group’s project so far consists of a 2-megawatt turbine from Hitachi Ltd. (6501) nicknamed “Fukushima Mirai.” A floating substation, the first of its kind, has also been set up and bears the name “Fukushima Kizuna.” Mirai means future, while kizuna translates as ties.

The group is planning to install two more turbines by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (7011) with 7 megawatts of capacity each. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has said the floating offshore capacity may be expanded to 1,000 megawatts.

Reliability, Safety

“The evaluation of safety, reliability and economic potential of the offshore floating wind farm through the collection and analysis of meteorological data, hydrographic data and performance data will be carried out during the experimental study,” according to a statement released by the group.

Officials say the project needs approval from local fishermen before becoming a commercial operation.

For Japan, which is surrounded by deep oceans, floating wind turbines hold the promise of opening up large areas to produce clean energy. The technology involves attaching turbines to structures that float in areas too deep for traditional towers fixed to the seafloor.

The trade ministry has already set aside 22 billion yen ($222 million) for the five-year undertaking, according to ministry officials. The trade ministry is requesting an additional 31 billion yen for the fiscal year starting April 1.

The Fukushima project follows similar projects with floating turbines in Norway, Portugal and Nagasaki in southwestern Japan. The Nagasaki project is backed by Japan’s environment ministry.

December 1, 2013 - Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized

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