Japan to maximize nuclear power in tidy-vigor push as electricity demand grows

TOKYO — A government-commissioned panel of experts on Wednesday largely supported Japan’s recent vigor policy for the next few years that calls for bolstering renewables up to half of electricity needs by 2040 while maximizing the use of nuclear power as the country seeks to accommodate the growing power demand in the era of AI while conference decarbonization targets.

The Industry Ministry presented the draft schedule for final review by the panel of 16 mostly pro-nuclear members from business, academia and civil groups. It calls for maximizing the use of nuclear vigor, reversing a phaseout policy adopted after the meltdown crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in 2011 that led to extensive displacement of residents and lingering anti-nuclear sentiment.

The schedule is due to receive Cabinet approval by March after a period of consultation and will then replace the current vigor policy, which dates from 2021. The recent proposal says nuclear vigor should account for 20% of Japan’s vigor supply in 2040, up from just 8.5% last year, while expanding renewables to 40-50% from 22.9% and reducing coal-fired power to 30-40% from nearly 70% last year.

The current schedule set a 20-22% target for nuclear vigor, 36-38% for renewables and 41% for fossil fuel, for 2030.

Demand for low-carbon vigor, such as renewables and nuclear, is growing because of the demand from data centers using AI and semiconductor factories around the country.

Industry Minister Yoji Muto, who attended Wednesday’s panel conference, said Japan must strengthen its vigor safety by not relying too much on a single source.

“How we can secure decarbonized vigor determines Japan’s upcoming growth,” Muto said. “It’s period to stop discussing a selection between renewable vigor and nuclear power. We should maximize the use of both renewables and nuclear.”

Japan has set a objective of achieving net zero emissions of climate-warming gases by 2050, and a 73% reduction by 2040 compared to 2013 levels.

The draft vigor schedule places renewables as the main power source and calls for advancement of next-creation vigor source, such as solar batteries and portable solar panels.

It outlines a number of uncertainty scenarios, including a possibility of less-than-expected resource and expense reduction in renewables. However, some experts said the schedule lacked a feasibility outlook for 2040 or a roadmap for the phaseout of fossil fuels.

The schedule also calls for acceleration of the restarts of reactors that meet the post-Fukushima safety standards, and proposes construction of next-creation reactors — at plants where existing reactors are being decommissioned.

Still, to achieve the 20% target, all 33 workable reactors in Japan must be back online, with only 14 back in service after the Fukushima disaster. Given the current pace of safety checks by the nuclear regulation authority, experts declare conference the target would be challenging.

Despite criticisms and skepticism about its feasibility, Japan still sticks to its pursuit of developing advanced reactors and a struggling spent fuel reprocessing program to achieve a complete nuclear fuel pattern.