Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has affirmed that nuclear energy is as important to the country’s ‘Green Transformation’ (GX) as renewable energy is. He was addressing, via video, the second meeting of the country’s Green Transformation Implementation Council, World Nuclear News has reported.
“[R]enewable energy and nuclear power are decarbonised energies that are indispensable for promoting GX,” affirmed Kishida. He asked the Council to submit a report, by the end of this year, “on all measures, including the institutional framework for evaluating these as options for the future, and how the parties concerned should make efforts to further deepen public understanding”. The report should present “concrete conclusions”.
“In order to overcome the current crisis of tight power supply and demand, we will mobilise all possible measures not only this winter but also for the next few years to avoid unforeseen circumstances,” he assured. “In particular, with regard to nuclear power plants, in addition to securing the operation of the ten units already restarted, the government will take all possible measures to restart nuclear power plants that have already been permitted to be installed.”
The government would also dramatically accelerate the development of other green power systems and their necessary supporting infrastructure. This policy would include the promotion of offshore wind power and the more rapid introduction of stationary storage batteries. Indeed, the use of renewable energy sources in general would be expanded. “In addition, with regard to nuclear power, it is necessary to mobilise the collective efforts of all parties concerned toward restarting operations, and to extend the operating period on the premise of ensuring safety,” he highlighted.
Kishida also noted that certain nuclear options presented at the Council meeting would require political decisions before they could be implemented. These included the maximum use of the country’s existing nuclear power plants. Another such option was the development and construction of innovative next-generation reactors, which incorporated new safety mechanisms.
Prior to the tsunami-caused nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi in March 2011, nuclear had provided about 30% of Japan’s electricity. Within 14 months of the accident, this had fallen to zero, as all the reactors were shut down, awaiting new regulations to be promulgated. As of now, ten reactors (out of 39 operable units) have been certified as meeting the new regulations and are back in operation. But last year, nuclear generated only 7.2% of the country’s electricity. Currently, another 17 reactors are awaiting the regulatory certification which will allow them to restart.