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© 2024 AFPJapan shifting back to nuclear to ditch coal, power AI
By Simon STURDEE KASHIWAZAKI-KARIWA, Niigata©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
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Moonraker
With wind, tidal, geothermal and no doubt others I can't think of. And yet it always seems to be obligatory to trot out the "resource-poor" Japan trope. Clearly it is not resource poor if so much power could be produced with renewables. Hell, if it were only 50% you would still not call the country resource-poor.
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Newgirlintown
As long as we can transition away from fossil fuels given what’s happening around the world and the fact that it’s only going to get worse.
Always?
I wonder how does wind power work when it is not a windy day? How does solar power work when it rains? How does tidal power work when the sea is calm????
Temyong
Good for Japan. The green agenda is pushing the world back to the Middle Ages. Nuclear is the cheapest, cleanest, most efficient, and most reliable form of energy.
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Aly Rustom
Exactly. I agree.
mu-da
That and industrial country like Japan can't depend solely on renewables is obvious. Anybody who doiubts that should look at what happens in Germany now: De-industrialisation with important industries shutting down and going elsewhere. To restart nyclear energy is a sensible decision especially with newer reactors eliminating many of the drawbacks of the old ones.
The CO² emissions for the production of the concrete needed for the foundations of nine wind turbines are as high as 1,32 times the annual CO² emissions of 2031 vehicles, one German engineer calculated. And: Engineers expect more than 43 million tons of landfill waste will be generated by turbine blades globally by 2050, which is about three times as much total waste as New York City produces annually. Large scale wind power is an environmental and "renewable" energy sham.
mountaingrill
Apparently, they are not alone: Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are also investing in nuclear reactors to power AI.
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Moonraker
If you can really ask this question then maybe it's too much to expect you might know the answers to your other questions but there are things called batteries and other ways of storing the energy. Do you really imagine that, with all this renewable infrastructure in place in the world that what to do on rainy or windless days has only been thought of by you?
Zaphod
It is ironic that the increasing power demands for AI is now forcing a return to nuclear, and I wonder how many people spend their at their computers and smartphones, use the internet and drive EVs and think all that is somehow "green" because no exhaust pipe is seen. What an irony...
However, in addition of firing up its old Gen2 reactors as a short-term solution, Japan should invest in new Gen4 technology. There are designs out there now that are walk-away safe, completely different from the old technology.
Alongfortheride
Anyone who is concerned about the environment should welcome nuclear power plants.
wallace
The photo description is wrong. There are not "54 nuclear plants". There are 33 reactors classed as operable. In total, 21 nuclear reactors have been decommissioned since 2011.
Present States of Operation
https://www.nra.go.jp/english/nuclearfacilities/operation.html
Always?
LOL, I guess you dont much about batteries. Question: How much power can a battery store? Can you store enough power in batteries to power a city the size of Tokyo??? Can you name one city that is 100% powered by renewables????? Almost every city has nuclear or coal or LNG is their energy mix! When Germany went without nuclear power they had to burn wood to keep warm in winter time.
Wasabi
Are you for real? No need to be a genius to understand that...
It is like asking how does you body work when you do not eat....
Moonraker
So what? Where did I ever say 100% powered by renewables was necessary or possible? I was only repeating the expert who said 70-80% renewables in Japan is possible. I am not even saying nuclear should be abandoned. And FYI, the fanboys' favourite, Elon Musk, is building a 300 megawatt battery farm in Australia after the success of a 100 MW one. It's a matter of scaling up. And also, FYI, whether the sea is calm or not makes no difference to tidal power. But, if you prefer to believe what you want to believe (or were told to believe) it's fine.
Jonathan Prin
Just think about the comparison of stopping nuclear, and not stopping at a country level.
Multiplication of coal plants, energy ballooning costs and environment impact at Earth level is not pretty.
Politicians nowadays are emotional and without intelligence for many.
WeiWei
It’s actually a perfectly valid question and it has not been solvex yet, even by the biggest minds on the planet.
Batteries, lifting water up to a higher level, and a gazillion other ways have been tried but there is still no one solution that fits all.
iron man
May I question if battery manufacturing for temporary storage is green? I could add to the comments about CO2 emissions for windmills, most have high tensile steel towers, and reinforced grp (non-oil? )for the turning things offshore towers steel or concrete are coated in polymer protections (oil). to balance nuclear facilities require mega amounts of high-grade concrete to ensure their life span. Fact all of mankind as always needed joules (energy) just to survive, with the consumer driven market for new electric toys, We need greater proven outputs within 10-20yrs. I have bias as stated previously I as an engineer believe in fission, if we adopt it the scientists can stop investigating fusion, the earth does not have the resources tha MR SUN has
wallace
The UK closed its last coal-fired plant. Replaced it with wind turbines that generate 30% of power.
https://gridwatch.co.uk/
Aly Rustom
Sydney Australia
Aly Rustom
The city of Sydney, Australia, has made history by becoming the first major city in the world to be powered entirely by renewable energy. As of 2023, the city runs on 100% wind and solar power, demonstrating its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change.
Renewable Energy in Sydney: A Clean and Green Metropolis (linkedin.com)
wallace
Decentralized power plants. More efficient grid system. The unfortunate situation of Japan has two electric systems and two grids. Reduction of electricity use with better use of it. Better electric motors. More power generated locally and in self-sufficient homes.
Peter Neil
wind turbines have historically been difficult to get online in japan. there are so many middlemen and the regulations and bureaucracy is suffocating. and public acceptance is very low. they are not silent generators.
unless our relationship with the moon changes, tides are not “calm,” they are like clockwork.
japan doesn’t have many wide plains with sparse vegetation for solar. those are used for growing something important - food. mountains, mountains everywhere. i think it’s about 10% of electrical generation now. there’s still a lot of potential for growth. offshore doesn’t sacrifice land.
why does investing in power for ai and massive data centers have to be borne by the public? you want to power your data center, build your own power. this is not such a radical idea. many companies with large, power hungry manufacturing plants did this in the 1970’s and early 80’s.
it will be hard for japan to not use its nuclear generating capacity. japan will still need to import oil, lpg and gasoline, something it does it have at all.
USNinJapan2
Aly Rustom
Always? is talking about the entire city and its population being powered 100% by renewable energy sources. What you've reference is the City of Sydney powering just it's municipal buildings and facilities from renewable sources, probably accounting for a small percentage of energy consumed within Sydney city limits. 70% of the rest of the energy consumed by its population, businesses, etc., still comes from non-renewable sources. Commend the effort but it's a drop in the bucket.
Moderator
Back on topic please.
Abe234
Always?Today 08:02 am JST
With wind, tidal, geothermal and no doubt others I can't think of. And yet it always seems to be obligatory to trot out the "resource-poor" Japan trope.
well there is storage, it is not one or the other. If it’s not windy there may be solar. If it’s cloudy there may be wind turbines. They still work on cloudy days and they still work in lighter winds. We don’t need blazing hot sunshine or typhoons to work. If we need other support the hydro can come in, if we need more we can bring in nuclear. It’s not a zero sum game. Think how we eliminated ozone gases and switched. Think about how we cut omissions to stop acid rain. The arguments were also used for the transition from horse and cart to cars, trucks and trains, now we have whole new industries,jobs and skills. We don’t chop down trees and burn them. We stopped using whale fat for lighting, and stopped using gas slighting and yet, the lights stayed on.the sea never stops moving and the sun always rises and wind always blows. Somewhere but just not in your garden. And finally the power is moved around the grid.
Always?
Tidal power requires a tidal range of at least 3 meters. LOL . what you bare saying is like solar power does not need the sun. Do you what a tidal range is? And how tidal power works? FYi. Tidal energy power plants can only operate along the coastline AND YOU A TIDAL RANGE OF 3 METERS. JAPAN'S IS 1.5 METERS.
Sanjinosebleed
Tides by their very nature happen twice a day like clockwork!
possibly you are thinking of wave power which is another kettle of fish entirely.
Another new system which would suit japan and all its dams is solar hydro.
https://arena.gov.au/news/world-first-solar-hydro-power-plant-addresses-need-for-longer-duration-energy-storage/
There are plenty of options to avoid dangerous nuclear! The Fukushima nightmare was very close to emptying Tokyo of its entire population! Nobody wants that! Not to mention the now uninhabitable areas and waste disposal issues!
virusrex
This is still completely independent from wind, and the Japanese coastline is not homogeneous, the Ariake sea for example is well known for having a wide tidal range, so there is no problem with harvesting it for power.
https://www.emecs.or.jp/en/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/1021.pdf
At the flood tide, the tidal range is about 3.0 m in the bay mouth area, and it becomes bigger in the bay head area with the tidal range of 4.5-5.0 m.
PTownsend
Coal should have been phased out long ago, more reliance on nukes means more reliance on centralized power organizations and the fossils that have controlled power in Japan for ages. I agree with what @Wallace said above at 11:35.
And where are the Japanese entrepreneurs trying to find and develop more ways to generate electricity using renewables and resources found in Japan. The political/ business powers that are should provide incentives for building owners to make their buildings more energy efficient and/or install their own power generating devices.
Moonraker
No need to shout. It's good you did a little research anyway. Please read virusrex. But there is no need to get hung up on tidal power - I was just telling you it doesn't need waves. Now you have deflected that on to something else. I don't even know whether tidal is completely feasible in Japan or not. In any case, I was originally quoting the expert about 70-80% of energy being possible to create. And then I kindly told you that batteries were possible because you questioned my understanding of batteries. Every time you address my comment, you misrepresent me to your presumed advantage. This is called creating a straw man.
wallace
The UK currently sources around 50% of its natural gas from its territory, with the North Sea accounting for an estimated 50%. The other 50% is mostly from the US.
Guy Gin and tonic
Well, first, you find yourself a watery planet with a great big moon orbiting it so that said moon pulls the water on said planet towards it so that as that planet rotates the water levels go up and down in any one spot thus creating these things that we call “tides”.
kohakuebisu
Yes, this makes a lot of sense.
It strikes me as misguided to worry so much about nuclear's potential problems when the actual problems from fossil fuels, e.g., air quality, climate change, ocean acidification, cost, and enabling awful political regimes, is known. Such problems cost way more deaths every year than Fukushima, so far the second worst case scenario ever for nuclear.
purple_depressed_bacon
Yes. In fact, it's not a city but a country - Iceland.
Iceland is a leader in renewable energy, using almost 100% of its electricity from renewable sources and 85% of its total primary energy supply from domestically produced renewable energy:
Hydropower: 70% of Iceland's electricity comes from hydropower plants.
Geothermal energy: 30% of Iceland's electricity comes from geothermal power plants. Geothermal energy is also used for space heating, with 90% of Icelandic households using geothermal water for space heating.
Wind energy: Iceland began producing wind energy in 2013.
https://www.government.is/topics/business-and-industry/energy/#:~:text=About%2085%25%20of%20the%20total,any%20national%20total%20energy%20budget
kohakuebisu
Japan already has lots of pumped storage, i.e., hydro plants that pump water uphill and release it to produce power when needed. This was built to store excess electricity produced overnight by nuclear, but can also be used to store unneeded electricity from solar PV on sunny days. Eco Cute water heaters were similarly designed to use overnight electricity from nuke plants, but can be reprogrammed to store daytime power from solar instead. Hot water is a decent chunk of household energy usage.
Hideomi Kuze
Japan's LDP-nuclear industries complex mere found "AI" as plausible pretext to cling to nuclear plants.
Dangerousness that continue to use nuclear plants in Japan where can never escape from risk of hard earthquake and tsunami and where has innumerable unknown active faults has been not reduced at all.
Now nuclear power generating cost that higher than renewable energy, LDP government even tries to add cost about nuclear plants up electric bills, contrary past explanation "nuclear power is cheapest" against society where citizen already facing poverty.
Besides, Recent Japan has emphasized plural neighbouring countries as "military threats" or "virtual enemy", But Japanese western and northern seacoast where Japan had built many nuclear plants one after another are nearby area from such countries.
Japanese nuclear plants' beneficiaries insist only its necessity, never mention and consider about risk or alternatives.
As ever, LDP government mere burdens more cost and more risk to citizen to bring more profit to economy circles only.
MiuraAnjin
Nice sea wall. The answer to everything is still to pour more concrete I see. Now what to do about incoming missiles? Should hostilities break out with one of our neighbours to the west, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa will be an easy and devastating target.
Triring
tidal wave harvesting infrastructure cost too much to be economically viable.
The salt ocean water mucks-up any and all moving parts rendering them useless within a few years.
MiuraAnjin
Interesting. All you need is impellers in tubes and we’ve been fitting propellers to ships for over a century. Surely the screws last more than a few years?