Japan can raise renewable energy share to 80% by 2035: study

In their researched assessment, this think tank....

assumes that Japan's power consumption will remain stable

And in the very next paragraph, it is stated that there is a current need to...

cope with an increase in energy demand.

So the entire "think tank" assessment is based on a empirically false assumption.

What are these batteries they are talking about. We all know that one of the biggest problems with solar and wind power is that there is not a system created yet that can store this energy for long periods of time on a scale that is necessary. Also, I know that this is being done in the name of preventing more climate change, but if you cut down more trees and cover the land with solar panels, I don't think you are really helping.

Nuclear energy is the cleanest energy of all

Nuclear energy is in itself the reflection of humanity's stupidity, thinking that such energy is the cleanest of all.

So the entire "think tank" assessment is based on a empirically false assumption.

No it isn't.

If energy requirements go up, then renewables will be less than 80%, if it goes down it will be more than 80%.

By 2035 Japan's population could be about 10 million people less, so energy consumption will likely go down.

Nuclear energy has the lowest carbon footprint than all energy sources and unlike batteries doesn't need 7 year old African kids digging out lithium from poisonous mines or solar panels with their cadmium, lead and other toxic materials

The year 2035 will be much too late. It is necessary to start moving away from the carbon age much more urgently.

We need ambitious targets so I suppose this is good. The tech is there, so its mostly a matter of political will. Vested interests like things the way they are, so I doubt we'll see the changes the planet needs.

It would be a gigantic mistake for Japan not to go all-in on Gen IV nuclear energy. All economies need energy and cheap reliable nuclear energy could really be a huge boost to the entire economy of Japan.

So the entire "think tank" assessment is based on a empirically false assumption.

That is directly addressed in the article:

 It assumes that Japan's power consumption will remain stable despite the growth of industries such as semiconductor production and data center operations due to anticipated improvements in power usage efficiency.

I don’t know how safe that assumption is, but it doesn’t sound implausible to me. Also Japan’s population will decline by about 3 to 4 million people by 2035, which will likely offset a lot of the increased power usage from some sectors.

The construction costs of a reactor have become prohibitive at $15-$20 billion.

Nuclear energy has the lowest carbon footprint than all energy sources and unlike batteries doesn't need 7 year old African kids digging out lithium from poisonous mines or solar panels with their cadmium, lead and other toxic materials

You are kinda right. Unfortunately, some reader has already pointed out that nowadays it costs billions of dollars to build new reactors and takes relatively long time to build them.

Also r U wiling to have a nuclear plant or a nuclear waste storage facility in the state you are living? Nowadays I think people are more willing to voice their opposition than in the past

All will depend on how the oil/gas market behaves, ie geopolitically.

Cheap and readily available oil and gas would allow economies to keep very cheap energy.

If not, then the development of the use of nuclear energy is a must.

There will be no cheap renewable energies, due to difficulty of access to rare-earth metals in larger produced quantities.

I am sure I have read something similar, but back in the mid-1990s. Nothing changed in 30+ years and won't change in another 30. Especially in Japan.

Well, the last few years has definitely shown the world that we need to get off fossil fuels.

"Japan can raise renewable energy share to 80% by 2035: study."

I will remain optimistic but that's really difficult bearing in mind the inconsistency with the weather nowadays.

Japan’s power consumption will drastically decrease because dead people do not need electricity and the population decline is continuing. Also means less production for less consumers so less use of power by industries.

Japans population by 2035 will not have gone down by 3 to 4 million but by 10 to 12 million. Or more.

a million a year less people now then the previous year but that trend will keep increasing

There are and will be more sodium ion batteries.

Nuclear energy has the lowest carbon footprint than all energy sources and unlike batteries doesn't need 7 year old African kids digging out lithium from poisonous mines or solar panels with their cadmium, lead and other toxic materials

since immediate after Fukushima nuclear disaster, potentiality that can expand renewable energy drastically in Japan was pointed and expected.

But, LDP regime depends on donation from large corporations, prioritizes corporations' profit or superannuated nuclear plants than any other things such as safe of citizen, they even plot plan to more add ballooning-cost about nuclear industries to electric bill stealthly.

Aren’t most battery products in China and Indonesia? Seems a bit risky to put your hope in maintaining good relationship with your competitors.

Some observations.

Where they already exist nuclear reactors are a valuable source of electricity, but new renewable energy plants are considerably cheaper than new nuclear energy plants.

Solar farms are not built on land cleared of trees.

The article mentions using natural gas (methane) burning power plants to backup renewable energy sources, but that is the whole point of using batteries...to store energy for when renewable energy is not sufficient for needs. Thus, achieving 100% clean energy, rather than just 80%, by using more batteries for backup makes sense as a goal.

Here in California we have built considerable battery backup resources, and during the heat waves of the last two summers those battery backups enabled us to avoid energy blackouts. Energy planners have come to realize that when solar and wind are combined with batteries, the problem of the intermittent nature of solar and wind can be solved.

Situated on The Pacific Rim's Ring of Fire, Japan could do much more to develop geothermal energy. Geothermal is a clean source of energy which is available 24/7, unlike solar and wind, so does not require any battery backup.

California gets about 6% of its electricity from geothermal, and is the world leader, generating more energy from that source than any nation on Earth. The USA as a whole gets less than 1% of its energy from geothermal sources, reflecting the lack of leadership from Washington.

So…Japan doesn’t grow enough food to be self-sufficient, and the other worry is too much carbon in the atmosphere. The solution is to replace arable land, which produces food, and forests, which breathe in CO2, with solar farms, which Japan has to import. Then, we import food and wood from other countries using…fossil fuels.

Pardon me if this whole scheme just sounds like a means to weaken countries domestically and put everyone at the mercy of globalist corporations, which take a cut financially every time goods are exchanged.

Even with a population decline, Japan’s electricity consumption will go up. What is going to power the electric cars? What is going to power the robots that replace human workers? And so long as Japan remains an exporter with high global demand for Japan-made goods, Japan’s domestic energy footprint is much more about consumption patterns in America, Europe, China, and the rest of the world. A 1 or 2 percent drop in population is not going to offset the 30-50 percent rise in electricity consumption that the coming decade expects.

Nuclear energy is in itself the reflection of humanity's stupidity, thinking that such energy is the cleanest of all

it’s not an opinion; it’s a fact. You didn’t know that nuclear power was cleaner than Solar? Cleaner than wind? To make renewables requires fossil fuels. You can’t make a solar panel with a solar panel right? Do you know how much underground concrete a single windmill requires? Do you think that electric cars make the amount of CO2 go down? they don’t.

by the way did you hear the good news that a 3 mile island unit is reopening in 2028? Seems they need to meet the demands for AI and data processing etc. and renewables are not up to the task.

anyway renewables produce far too much waste to be taken seriously. windmills in the ocean are gonna make sea animals go extinct. Recycling them costs more than it does to make them in the first place. And if they’re so cheap why do they need subsidies?

80% less of all such biased 'think' tanks would already help a lot more immediately. lol