5 THE POLITICS OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANT RESTARTS …
127
utilization rates can average as low as 12–13%. Thus, 70 GW of installed
PV solar capacity will produce essentially this much electricity on a sunny
day, but significantly less on a cloudy day, and no power at night, hence
the need for storage and smart grids facilitating demand management.
It is also important to consider the utilization rate of nuclear power. In
2014, the utilization rate for nuclear power in Japan was 0%, and by the
end of 2015, this had increased to approximately 2%.
13. China in 2012 and 2013 had solar PV and wind penetration ratios (the
percentage of electricity generated from these sources of 2.0 and 2.6%,
respectively, and curtailment ratios of 17.12 and 10.74%, showing a
high but falling curtailment rate even as renewable energy penetration
increased. By comparison, in 2014 Hokkaido had a penetration ratio in
of 2.7%, Tohoku 2.3%, and Kyushu of 1.8%, yet zero curtailment. These
are three of the initial five EPCOs that suspended new grid connections.
One note of caution regarding this comparison is that the figures for
Japan are regional while those for China are nationwide, meaning that
higher local penetration rates may be driving higher national as well
as regional curtailment rates. Nonetheless, it seems unlikely that this
difference alone explains the large variation. This study also includes
future estimates of curtailment based on penetration, and only one
scenario, Kyushu with a hypothesized penetration rate of 19.7%, produces
an estimated curtailment rate that is comparable to the lower end of
China’s curtailment: 10.99% (Yasuda et al. 2015, p. 3).
14. For sensationalist accounts that exaggerate the change and its impact, see
Sentaku (2014), and Sakakibara (2017).
15. This capacity was more than a third larger and earlier than the 100 MW
storage battery Tesla completed in Australia in late 2017 that grabbed
international headlines (Deign 2018).
16. Rokkasho is also known as the location for a nuclear-fuel reprocessing
plant whose construction has stalled due to legal challenges.
17. Foreign manufacturers also supplied 20% of power conditioning systems
(by capacity) for these projects (SII 2017).
18. Already in spring METI announced new grid-capacity rules, effective
from September, expanding the amount of variable renewable energy that
could be sent over the grid (Aida 2018).
19. Two independent companies not mentioned in the Asahi article are Kinki
Denryoku and Aichi Denryoku. Kinki Denryoku only sold solar generated
electricity from the Kansai (Kinki) region. Kinki Denryoku would actively
try to procure other forms of renewable energy through JPEX (Japan
Electricity Exchange), and aimed to achieve 100% reliance on renewable energy in the future. It boasted 20 generation facilities with a total
capacity of 2.5 MW, all of them solar PV facilities. It was aiming for
10 MW of capacity by September 2016, and 200 MW by February 2018.
127
utilization rates can average as low as 12–13%. Thus, 70 GW of installed
PV solar capacity will produce essentially this much electricity on a sunny
day, but significantly less on a cloudy day, and no power at night, hence
the need for storage and smart grids facilitating demand management.
It is also important to consider the utilization rate of nuclear power. In
2014, the utilization rate for nuclear power in Japan was 0%, and by the
end of 2015, this had increased to approximately 2%.
13. China in 2012 and 2013 had solar PV and wind penetration ratios (the
percentage of electricity generated from these sources of 2.0 and 2.6%,
respectively, and curtailment ratios of 17.12 and 10.74%, showing a
high but falling curtailment rate even as renewable energy penetration
increased. By comparison, in 2014 Hokkaido had a penetration ratio in
of 2.7%, Tohoku 2.3%, and Kyushu of 1.8%, yet zero curtailment. These
are three of the initial five EPCOs that suspended new grid connections.
One note of caution regarding this comparison is that the figures for
Japan are regional while those for China are nationwide, meaning that
higher local penetration rates may be driving higher national as well
as regional curtailment rates. Nonetheless, it seems unlikely that this
difference alone explains the large variation. This study also includes
future estimates of curtailment based on penetration, and only one
scenario, Kyushu with a hypothesized penetration rate of 19.7%, produces
an estimated curtailment rate that is comparable to the lower end of
China’s curtailment: 10.99% (Yasuda et al. 2015, p. 3).
14. For sensationalist accounts that exaggerate the change and its impact, see
Sentaku (2014), and Sakakibara (2017).
15. This capacity was more than a third larger and earlier than the 100 MW
storage battery Tesla completed in Australia in late 2017 that grabbed
international headlines (Deign 2018).
16. Rokkasho is also known as the location for a nuclear-fuel reprocessing
plant whose construction has stalled due to legal challenges.
17. Foreign manufacturers also supplied 20% of power conditioning systems
(by capacity) for these projects (SII 2017).
18. Already in spring METI announced new grid-capacity rules, effective
from September, expanding the amount of variable renewable energy that
could be sent over the grid (Aida 2018).
19. Two independent companies not mentioned in the Asahi article are Kinki
Denryoku and Aichi Denryoku. Kinki Denryoku only sold solar generated
electricity from the Kansai (Kinki) region. Kinki Denryoku would actively
try to procure other forms of renewable energy through JPEX (Japan
Electricity Exchange), and aimed to achieve 100% reliance on renewable energy in the future. It boasted 20 generation facilities with a total
capacity of 2.5 MW, all of them solar PV facilities. It was aiming for
10 MW of capacity by September 2016, and 200 MW by February 2018.