Japan aims to abandon nuclear power by 2030s

[blankslate]

I haven't seen this posted about in the forums so...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/14/us-japan-nuclear-idUSBRE88D05520120914

Given the countries small size and limited options for power generation this seems like a goal they will have trouble reaching.

However, it seems that it might be necessary in their case because because their relatively small area of land mass would increase the effect of nuclear disasters on their country compared to larger countries.

 

[bfdd]

This won't go anywhere. They have no alternatives that don't require them going to war for resources. So unless everyone there is going to give up their electricity driven life styles, lols.

 

[blankslate]

Like I said it would be a difficult goal for Japan to reach however there's a lot of R & D into energy sources that could make that goal easier over the next ~27 years if it pans out.

 

[Incorruptible]

This won't go anywhere. They have no alternatives that don't require them going to war for resources. So unless everyone there is going to give up their electricity driven life styles, lols.

Complete idiots, they need nuclear power

 

[evti]

Or they could put R&D into increasing safety in their powerplants. Since nuclear energy is one of the more promising sources of energy, abandoning it is probably not an excellent idea.

 

[MovingTarget]

I don't see this happening in Japan by that time. I may not be a fan of current fission reactors, but they are a necessary evil. Japan needs to be careful what it wishes for because near complete dependence on imported fossil fuels is something no country should be at the mercy of.

 

[uhohs]

not gonna happen, especially with the recent stuff with china going on.

 

[Nintendesert]

They're just putting all their eggs into the cold fusion basket. They'll be just fine!

 

[blankslate]

according to Michu Kaku a rather famous scientist who speculates about the future
in about 10 years Solar power and other forms of renewable power may very well become as economically feasible as fossil fuels within ten years.

He also talks about Hubbert's Peak


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvsFWUo2iIw

He could be wrong though... However, maybe that is why they set the goal out by about 27 years to see if existing power technologies are improved or if new ones are developed.

This guy is to me the modern equivalent of Carl Sagan. Only Carl Sagan became a bit more famous because Americans back in those hallowed times weren't so distracted by things like Honey Boo Boo

 

[bfdd]

Like I said it would be a difficult goal for Japan to reach however there's a lot of R & D into energy sources that could make that goal easier over the next ~27 years if it pans out.

R&D into modern safety features for modern reactor designs would go further than R&D into non-sense that will not generate them anything except diplomatic issues when dealing with neighbors? Please. Japan NEEDS nuclear power until 2030 so they can start to think of different transitional phases then, not try and skip a whole generation of power production(like we are here in the States) due to fear and gullibility.

Also, I'm a Kaku fan but he is almost always overly optimistic and a little blinded by his optimism imo.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Japan has decent access to geothermal possibilities. They would need to solve some transmission problems as the best sites are under water.

 

[blankslate]

R&D into modern safety features for modern reactor designs would go further than R&D into non-sense that will not generate them anything except diplomatic issues when dealing with neighbors?

Which is why they probably set the goal some 27 years away. Maybe they could transition to Thorium which seems to be a much safer fuel for fission while at the same time as looking for improvements in renewable energy generation.

To me the choice between the pursuit of safer forms of fission and renewable energy is a false choice. Both should be getting R&D funding.

 

[Fern]

I don't think it's do-able.

How do people come up with such "goals"? Do they have an actual plan or are they merely 'hoping'?

I don't see how you can plan on a timeline when the technology you'll be relying on doesn't even exist yet.

Fern

 

[bfdd]

Which is why they probably set the goal some 27 years away. Maybe they could transition to Thorium which seems to be a much safer fuel for fission while at the same time as looking for improvements in renewable energy generation.

To me the choice between the pursuit of safer forms of fission and renewable energy is a false choice. Both should be getting R&D funding.

27? methinks you're counting wrong. 2030 is 17 years away. Also, like I said they are very much underestimating how accommodating their neighbors will be as they start lashing out for natural resources in the surrounding areas. you think protests for the Daiyo got crazy? lol. Does anyone remember why Japan was so Imperialistic in the past? Resources.

I agree, choosing either or is stupid and I don't condone completely ignoring other forms in favor of nuclear forms, just that the abandonment of nuclear energy seems like a childish emotional action. Not one I would normally associate with the Japanese.

 

[blankslate]

According to the article one of the main things the government will be looking at is increased efficiency and conservation to make up for some of the loss from the shuttering of Nuclear Power plants.

27? methinks you're counting wrong. 2030 is 17 years away

yep. derp at me.

As for childish emotion... well they were just shown how vulnerable their nuclear power facilities can be. In light of the disaster they have faced I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that they have commissioned studies on the subject before making the decision.

 

[bfdd]

According to the article one of the main things the government will be looking at is increased efficiency and conservation to make up for some of the loss from the shuttering of Nuclear Power plants.

Have you read about the wind turbines they've put up on buildings that don't spin? They power them so they spin, so that the onlookers on the streets and in the buildings don't trip out that they wasted all that money on nothing.

Blankslate, I'm not knocking them on their reaction to the situation as a whole. Only that the specific choice to abandon nuclear energy seems incredibly emotional and childish. It lacks a lot of forethought and much debate about the future of that specific industry as a whole. Japan's #1 competitor, China, is building 30+ facilities in the upcoming years. Japan will be left behind. Solar? China is a head of them there as well. Wind? Well I highly doubt the Japanese are going to storm up ahead in that department either. I really see it as a non-forward thinking decision, one that will most likely put them at odds with their neighbors over resources.

 

[EagleKeeper]

They either have something up their sleeve to replace nucleat power generation, or someone is posturing.
It will take a crash program to get renewable systems up efficiently to replace those power plants. Increasing dependance on oil & gas may solve the problem but at what overall economic cost and dependency risk.

 

[sandorski]

Laudable goal, but barring some breakthrough, not likely achievable. That said, a breakthrough could certainly happen within that time on a few fronts.

 

[bfdd]

Laudable goal, but barring some breakthrough, not likely achievable. That said, a breakthrough could certainly happen within that time on a few fronts.

I just don't see it. At the moment nearly 50% of their energy production relies on outside resources to be imported in. Like I said I can see this devolving into territory fights with their neighbors as they start getting more and more resource restricted.

 

[zanejohnson]

of course this will happen...

what you guys think we aren't from this planet or something and won't eventually become completelyl self sufficient??? of course we will. it's the probably the next big thing that will be as big as the internet....

i should say.. we might again figure it out.. i think some ancient civilizations had knowledge about the hidden power source as well..

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

They either have something up their sleeve to replace nucleat power generation, or someone is posturing.
It will take a crash program to get renewable systems up efficiently to replace those power plants. Increasing dependance on oil & gas may solve the problem but at what overall economic cost and dependency risk.

Hopefully they have a crash program mentality, because Americans are proving unimaginative and frankly inferior. If the current thinking was applied to Project Manhattan we'd still be waiting.

 

[Doppel]

of course this will happen...

what you guys think we aren't from this planet or something and won't eventually become completelyl self sufficient??? of course we will. it's the probably the next big thing that will be as big as the internet....

i should say.. we might again figure it out.. i think some ancient civilizations had knowledge about the hidden power source as well..

What were these ancient civilizations powering? Data centers and air conditioning?

 

[DCal430]

how anyone can support nuclear power after fukushima is beyond me. Trillions of dollars in clean up is whats in store for us.

 

[spacejamz]

how anyone can support nuclear power after fukushima is beyond me. Trillions of dollars in clean up is whats in store for us.

Please provide another realistic cost effective solution that Japan can use that will satisfy the energy needs for all of the citizens and companies there...

 

[zanejohnson]

Please provide another realistic cost effective solution that Japan can use that will satisfy the energy needs for all of the citizens and companies there...

well that's the opposite of what kind of thinking it's going to take to figure it out..