Renewables eyed as biggest source of Japan's energy mix in fiscal 2040

Renewable energy sources are expected to be the biggest item in Japan's planned energy mix for fiscal 2040 due out by year-end, sources have said.

The government will soon release the energy mix targets in a draft of an upcoming revision of its basic energy plan, which shows the direction of the country's medium- to long-term energy policies.

Discussions on the revision are in the final stage.

To realize a decarbonized society, the government is also expected to aim for a 20% share for nuclear energy in total power generation in fiscal 2040, the same as the current target for fiscal 2030.

In fiscal 2023 through March this year, thermal power generation, including with liquefied natural gas, represented nearly 70% of the total power production, followed by 22.9% for renewable energy and 8.5% for nuclear power.

Electricity demand is expected to soar, driven by an increase in power-hungry data centers. To tackle this, a stable energy supply and a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions are becoming even more important.

Meanwhile, uncertainties remain over whether next-generation decarbonization technologies, such as thin and flexible perovskite solar cells and hydrogen fuels, will see widespread adoption.

The government is therefore expected to give a range of targets for renewable energy sources to prepare for multiple scenarios according to the degree of progress in such technologies.

The revised basic plan would call for promoting further the replacement of aged nuclear power facilities with new ones.

At present, nuclear power plant operators are allowed to build new reactors on the land where existing reactors have been decommissioned.

Under the revised plan, the government would allow operators to build new reactors more flexibly within the premises of existing nuclear plants.

The revision will also focus on whether to remove a call for reducing the country's dependence on nuclear power as much as possible, which came in response to the March 2011 triple meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' Fukushima No. 1 power plant.