Summary: The Fukushima Daiichi Disaster was a public health, environmental, and economic catastrophe, and Japan will feel its effects in those sectors for years to come. While Japan once had one of the world’s most diverse energy portfolios, the loss of its nuclear program has caused a sudden shift towards a fossil-fuel heavy generation industry. Subsequently, Japanese greenhouse gas emissions and electricity costs for industrial and residential consumers have skyrocketed. In August 2015, the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant began its restart procedures, marking the beginning of the planned restart of the Japanese nuclear program and, likely, an eventual return to a more diversified energy portfolio.
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By Jared E. Schroder, Esq.
On August 11, 2015, the Kyushu Electric Power Company began the restart process on the No. 1 reactor of its Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in Kagoshima Prefecture. This marked the first restart of a nuclear power plant in Japan since the country’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) ceased all commercial nuclear operations in 2013 in response to the Fukushima Daiichi Disaster in March, 2011. While Japan’s 48 nuclear reactors have been idling, the NRA issued new safety rules meant to ensure that a disaster like the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Plant would never happen again. While the effects of the Fukushima Daiichi Disaster were catastrophic, the effects of Disaster on Japan’s energy strategy and the change in how Japan meets its energy needs is often understated and much like the meltdown itself, will carry lasting effects on the environment and Japanese economy.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/ world/japan-restarts-sendai-nuclear-reactor-four-years-after-fukushima-meltdown-n407676
Prior to the Fukushima Daiichi Disaster, Japan had one of the most diverse energy portfolios of any nation. Largely dependent on importing its natural resources, Japan had adopted nuclear power as a key component of its energy generation strategy. In the two years prior to the Fukushima Daiichi Disaster, nuclear power represented 27% of the country’s net electricity generation. The country had planned a massive expansion of its nuclear power program in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with its 2010 Energy Plan calling for at least a dozen new nuclear reactors to be constructed by 2020, raising nuclear-fired generation to 50% of the country’s total energy generation.
These ambitious plans were derailed, however, when a magnitude 9 M w earthquake occurred off the Japanese coast on March 11, 2011. The earthquake and the following tsunami caused extensive damage to the five units of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The loss of the backup power supply, damage to the infrastructure and machinery, and the debris deposited by the tsunami created a catastrophic situation, eventually leading to multiple explosions and mass discharges of radioactive material. The Official Report of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission concluded that this was “a manmade disaster”, and the nuclear program in Japan was quickly halted under public pressure, with the country’s nuclear plants either being decommissioned or idled pending permission to restart.
http://fukushimaupdate.com/ industry-paper-investigates-why-other-plants-were-not-affected-like-fukushima/
In the meantime, Japan’s energy industry has undergone a dramatic change. With the loss of nuclear power, the electricity generation shifted towards a fossil-fuel dependent portfolio. In 2013, natural gas, coal, and oil represented 43%, 30%, and 14%, respectively, compared to 30%, 24%, and 7%, respectively, in the two years prior to the Fukushima Daiichi Disaster. Meanwhile, regulators have relaxed policies on inspections of generation plants, utilities have restarted mothballed oil-fired generation units, and the government has promoted power restrictions for consumers and other demand-side measures during peak-use times.
This shift from a nuclear and renewable-heavy portfolio to a fossil fuel dominated generation sector carries with it a massive shift in the Japanese environmental program. While it was well on its way towards cutting greenhouse gas emissions in its energy production sector, it has been forced to abandon its plans and rely largely on fossil fuels to power the country. Furthermore, the rapid shift to fossil fuel-based generation meant that older and “dirtier” units had to be activated to meet the sudden need, compounding the emissions increase. Well on its way towards drastically minimizing the importance of fossil fuels in its energy portfolio, Japan’s post-Fukushima nuclear policy has instead made fossil fuels the primary sources of electricity generation and consequently has drastically increased the country’s greenhouse gas emissions to record levels.
Environmental considerations aside, the turning to fossil fuels to fill the gap in generation capacity created by the Fukushima Daiichi Disaster and the subsequent nuclear policy carries drastic economic considerations for Japan. Japan imports most of its natural resources and virtually all of its fossil fuels, making electricity produced using these sources very expensive. In the three years following the Fukushima Daiichi Disaster, Japan spent approximately $270 billion on fossil fuel imports , around 58% more than it had in the years prior to the Disaster. This expense trickles down to the consumer, raising end-user electricity rates to levels where smaller businesses are struggling to bear this increased burden. In short, the loss of its nuclear power has carried drastic negative economic implications for Japan.
Banner says, “Goodbye nuclear power station,” in Japanese. http://www.3news.co.nz/world/ protests-as-japan-restarts-nuclear-reactor-2015081121#axzz3khmNaJEI
Despite the all clear to begin the restart of the nuclear program, the road towards reintroducing nuclear power to Japan is likely to be long and turbulent. The restart decision faces robust public opposition, as there is a strong anti-nuclear movement among the Japanese people, whose trust in both nuclear power and their government regulation of the nuclear infrastructure was deeply shaken by the Fukushima Daiichi Disaster response. The process itself is complex and difficult; only days after the Sendai plant began its restart, the process was halted due to a malfunction in a secondary cooling system. With no other option in the meantime, Japan’s electricity generation will likely remain highly dependent on “dirty” and expensive fossil fuels until the country either finds a new way to shift towards renewables or has ramped up a safer nuclear program with public support.
Jared E. Schroder is a graduate of Wesleyan University and a magna cum laude graduate of Vermont Law School, from which he graduated in 2014 with a General Practice Certificate. Mr. Schroder is interested in the role of energy policy and economics in international relations, international law, and environmental law. Currently living in Washington, D.C., Mr. Schroder is a member of the New York Bar.
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