5 THE POLITICS OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANT RESTARTS …
107
grid ownership from ownership of generation assets through the creation
of separate companies. However, the Abe administration did not require
full divesture of the grid companies by the EPCOs, leading to criticism
that the grid companies would favor the incumbent EPCOs and fail to
actually provide grid parity to renewable energy generators (Hiranuma
2014, pp. 25–27).
At the same time, the Abe administration has continued to promote
renewable energy. One way it has done so is by establishing a new and
high-priced FIT for offshore wind power (36 Yen per KWh) which is
producing large increases in installed wind power capacity, such as a 2 GW
four-stage off-shore project in Akita prefecture (Asahi Shimbun 2020b;
Matsubara 2018, pp. 23). The Abe administration is also promoting the
development of the hydrogen economy, including using hydrogen as an
energy carrier and storage medium (see Uriu’s chapter for more on this)
(METI 2014, p. 69), and smart grids, two key technologies necessary
for expanding the use of variable renewable energy power sources such as
solar and wind. Public support for the FIT made it harder for opponents
of renewable energy within the Abe administration, the EPCOs, or the
“nuclear village” more generally to push for any significant rollback.
Despite the high initial FIT rates, a poll conducted in March 2015 by
Yomiuri Shimbun (a newspaper not generally friendly toward renewable
energy) found that when respondents were told that the average extra
cost resulting from the FIT per household in electricity rates averaged
¥225 (around USD $2 at 2020 rates) per month, 6% responded that
they wanted this amount to go up, 64% that this amount was fine, and
29% that they wanted to see this amount reduced, and 1% who did not
answer. 9 In short, at least 70% opposed reducing or eliminating the FIT
(Yomiuri Shimbun 2015). This is broadly consistent with earlier polling
by Asahi from June 2011, which asked respondents whether the share of
renewable energy should be increased even if electricity prices increased
as a result. In response, 65% favored increasing the share of renewable
energy, versus 19% who opposed this (Asahi Shimbun 2011). Moreover,
an overwhelming majority supported the gradual phaseout of nuclear
power, as indicated by Fig. 5.1.
In 2014, the Abe administration adopted a new Strategic Energy Plan,
replacing the 2010 Strategic Energy Plan. This plan abandoned both
the 2010 Plan’s call for increasing the use of nuclear power to 50% of
electricity generation by 2030, and the Kan-Noda road map’s plan to
eliminate nuclear power by the end of the 2030s. Although the 2014
107
grid ownership from ownership of generation assets through the creation
of separate companies. However, the Abe administration did not require
full divesture of the grid companies by the EPCOs, leading to criticism
that the grid companies would favor the incumbent EPCOs and fail to
actually provide grid parity to renewable energy generators (Hiranuma
2014, pp. 25–27).
At the same time, the Abe administration has continued to promote
renewable energy. One way it has done so is by establishing a new and
high-priced FIT for offshore wind power (36 Yen per KWh) which is
producing large increases in installed wind power capacity, such as a 2 GW
four-stage off-shore project in Akita prefecture (Asahi Shimbun 2020b;
Matsubara 2018, pp. 23). The Abe administration is also promoting the
development of the hydrogen economy, including using hydrogen as an
energy carrier and storage medium (see Uriu’s chapter for more on this)
(METI 2014, p. 69), and smart grids, two key technologies necessary
for expanding the use of variable renewable energy power sources such as
solar and wind. Public support for the FIT made it harder for opponents
of renewable energy within the Abe administration, the EPCOs, or the
“nuclear village” more generally to push for any significant rollback.
Despite the high initial FIT rates, a poll conducted in March 2015 by
Yomiuri Shimbun (a newspaper not generally friendly toward renewable
energy) found that when respondents were told that the average extra
cost resulting from the FIT per household in electricity rates averaged
¥225 (around USD $2 at 2020 rates) per month, 6% responded that
they wanted this amount to go up, 64% that this amount was fine, and
29% that they wanted to see this amount reduced, and 1% who did not
answer. 9 In short, at least 70% opposed reducing or eliminating the FIT
(Yomiuri Shimbun 2015). This is broadly consistent with earlier polling
by Asahi from June 2011, which asked respondents whether the share of
renewable energy should be increased even if electricity prices increased
as a result. In response, 65% favored increasing the share of renewable
energy, versus 19% who opposed this (Asahi Shimbun 2011). Moreover,
an overwhelming majority supported the gradual phaseout of nuclear
power, as indicated by Fig. 5.1.
In 2014, the Abe administration adopted a new Strategic Energy Plan,
replacing the 2010 Strategic Energy Plan. This plan abandoned both
the 2010 Plan’s call for increasing the use of nuclear power to 50% of
electricity generation by 2030, and the Kan-Noda road map’s plan to
eliminate nuclear power by the end of the 2030s. Although the 2014