Three noteworthy developments in Japan over the past couple of weeks highlight continued progress there towards bringing new renewable energy generation and conservation on line—and developments to be watchful of along the way.
1. The city of Kitakyushu’s Higashida district will serve as a test bed for a new dynamic electricity pricing system being developed by IBM Japan, Fuji Electric, and Yaskawa Electric, starting in 2013. Nikkei reports that as part of this test project, an energy monitoring system will inform business and residential users of real-time supply and demand conditions and resulting anticipated changes in pricing, with the aim of encouraging energy conservation by consumers at times of peak electricity demand. This project marks an important step forward in efforts to bring smart grid systems on-line in a major metropolitan area. Kitakyushu is particularly well-suited for this project, given its recognized leadership within Japan on environmental technologies.
2. Multiple companies are moving forward with plans to build a total of eight geothermal plants generating net energy output of 200,000 kilowatt hours on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido. Progress on these facilities would be a major boost to the development of geothermal power generation in Japan as part of a broader portfolio of renewable energy resources. While estimated to have the world’s third-largest potential geothermal energy resources (such as the steaming volcanic crater in Hokkaido in the above picture), Japan has lagged significantly in developing them. This is due in no small part to the opposition of hot springs resort owners, concerned by the possibility that geothermal plants would compromise hot springs resources, and also because the vast majority of Japan’s geothermal resources are located within national parks.
3. And a development to keep an eye on…while Japan’s feed-in tariff program has helped incentivize a wave of new renewable energy projects, these projects are trending significantly towards solar power. Moreover, a heavy concentration of solar plants planned for Hokkaido (where land is relatively cheaper compared to the rest of Japan) has reportedly spurred the Japanese government to consider actions to address this regional imbalance, along with the risk that the eventual output of these facilities could exceed transmission capacity. These initial trends bring into relief some of the limitations of the FIT program, as well as immensely more complex challenges that will need to be addressed to ensure balanced development of Japan’s renewable energy resources. For example, mostly agricultural Hokkaido’s abundant green energy resources could make the island a center of renewable power generation in Japan, creating a significant new industry in one of the more economically troubled parts of the country. To do this, however, transmission capacity between Hokkaido and the rest of Japan–already fractured between two separate power grids and multiple regional utilities–will need to be significantly increased and overhauled. Untying the Gordian knot of Japan’s electricity grid will ultimately be key to reaping the full benefits of its green power potential.
