This is revealing new assessment by U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Victoria Zaretskaya, Jonathan Russo, and Slade Johnson, of Japan’s plans to decarbonize the electric power sector by 2030 – moving from 31% carbon-free electricity to roughly 58% by the end of the decade. The plan involves accelerated investment in renewable capacity, increased use of nuclear generation, and reduced use of fossil fuels for electricity generation. From 2018 to 2022, the share of renewable generation in Japan grew from 21% to 26%, while nuclear generation remained at about 5% of total electricity production. Key to success is the restarting of nuclear reactors shutdown following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident. Since then, Japan has restarted 12 reactors and expects to restart two more units in 2024. By the end of 2024, a total of 12.6 GW of nuclear generating capacity is expected to be operating with an additional 11.4 GW to be restarted between 2025 and 2030. If all goes to plan, carbon-free nuclear power will account for more than 20% of the fuel-mix in 2030.
EIA’s Today in Energy article: https://lnkd.in/d8hN7KYb
Kent Knutson
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