The nation will have to invest at least ¥50 trillion in renewable energy by 2030 if nuclear power is completely phased out, the government estimated Tuesday.
It also predicted that households would see their monthly energy bills, including gas and other sources, nearly double if the phaseout goal is to be reached by 2030, rising to as high as ¥32,243 on average, compared with ¥16,900 in 2010.
These estimates were presented at a meeting to discuss future energy policy that was attended by national policy minister Motohisa Furukawa and other key members of the Cabinet.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has asked his Cabinet to outline the challenges if Japan decides to go completely nuclear-free.
Furukawa said the government will finish drawing up the new energy plan “by the end of this week or early next week.”
Lawmakers on the energy and environment panel of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan met separately in an effort to compile their recommendations on the new energy policy.
Members of the panel, which is headed by DPJ policy chief Seiji Maehara, exchanged views on drafted recommendations that urge the government not to allow construction of new nuclear plants and to eventually abandon atomic power.
But they remain divided over the target date for achieving that goal.
Furukawa said the government intends to compile the new energy plan after taking into account the ruling party’s recommendations coming possibly later this week.
Under the phaseout scenario, the nation’s energy to be generated from solar, wind and other renewable sources would need to rise to 350 billion kwh in 2030 from 106 billion kwh in 2010 to cover the loss of nuclear power.
Japan from about 1950 to about 1985 was a forward-looking innovative giant. What happened? Their births are lower than their deaths and their energy policy seems geared to stifle an economy that has sputtered for most of 30 years. This model seems even worse than the European model.