Japan Energy Dashboard

Grid Summary

Japan is ranked third behind the U.S. and France in amounts of renewable energies introduced, according to the 2000 statistics of the IEA (International Energy Agency), but the percentage of such energies in primary energy supply is slightly lower than in other nations. As far as power generation is concerned, however, Japan tops all other developed nations with the exception of the U.S., and is roughly average among developed countries in terms of the percentage of renewable energies used in power generation. The breakdown of Japan’s power generation by renewable energies highlights biomass and municipalities’ waste power generation. This is due not only to the national government’s support measures through NEDO and NEF, but also to power purchases by electric utilities through voluntary excess-power purchase menus. That is, the fourfold increase in power generation in the eight years since the 1992 introduction of the system contributed to this outcome.

Considerations in expanding new-energy introduction.

Various efforts have been made worldwide to expand the introduction of new energies (often classified in Europe and the U.S. as “renewable energies,” which include hydropower and geothermal in addition to photovoltaic, wind, and biomass). In particular, the “fixed-price purchase system” as used in Germany, Denmark, Spain, and other nations proved successful to a certain degree in its early stages. However, purchase at fixed prices is gradually shifting toward market-principle-oriented systems, typically the RPS System, as purchase at fixed prices gave rise to problems such as price rigidity and rather slow cost reductions driven by mass production, and due to increases in the financial burden on national governments. In Japan, the report of the New Energy Division of the Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energy released in June 2001 called for a further expansion in the introduction of renewable energy in a bid to address global warming, and it was decided to introduce the RPS System as a means of achieving this goal, as the system holds the promise of improving economic efficiency through the use of the market principle, while taking renewable energy promotion targets as energy security…more information.

In 2005, Japan had 247.9 gigawatts (GW) of installed electricity generating capacity, the third largest in the world behind the United States and China. During 2006, Japan generated 1,007 billion kilowatthours (Bkwh) of electric power and consumed 974 Bkwh. Although Japan accounts for the most electricity consumption in OECD Asia, it has the lowest demand growth rate in the region. Of the country’s total electric power generation, roughly 60 percent came from conventional thermal sources, 29 percent came from nuclear sources, 9 percent from hydroelectric sources, and 2 percent from other renewables. By 2030, the EIA forecasts that Japan will consume 1,151 Bkwh of electricity. Japan has virtually no domestic oil or natural gas reserves and is the second-largest net importer of crude oil and largest net importer of liquefied natural gas in the world. Including nuclear power, Japan is still only 16 percent energy self-sufficient. Japanese companies have actively pursued upstream oil and natural gas projects overseas in light of the country’s lack of domestic hydrocarbon resources. Japan remains one of the major exporters of energy-sector capital equipment and Japanese companies provide engineering, construction, and project management services for energy projects around the world. Japan has a strong energy research and development program that is supported by the government. The Japanese government actively pursues energy efficiency measures in an attempt to increase the country’s energy security and reduce carbon dioxide emissions...more information.