Japan could source 43% of electricity from renewables by 2020 - study

Sep 13, 2011 - Japan could source 43% of its power from renewables by 2020 and abandon nuclear energy by the end of 2012, Greenpeace International and the Tokyo-based Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies (ISEP) have said in a recent report.

The study focuses on the importance of wind and solar power for the Asian country. According to Greenpeace and ISEP, Japan has to bolster average wind power installations a year from 220 MW last year to 6,000 MW by next decade, while annual solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity should grow from 990 MW in 2010 to 6,700 MW.

To reach the 43% renewables target and become nuclear-free, Japan should also trim electricity consumption by 1.7% a year on average between now and 2020, the study says.

The report forecasts that jobs in the clean energy sector could treble by 2015 to 326,000, including 144,000 in the PV sector. Under a business-as-usual scenario, jobs will climb to only 81,500.

Greenpeace and ISEP have formed a list of actions that the Japanese government would need to undertake if it is ready to embrace the 43% target. A working feed-in-tariff scheme is essential.

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