Antinuclear

Japan Snaps Back With Less Power, Economy Survives Reactor Shutdowns, and Tokyo Rethinks Nuclear Policy, WSJ, Peter Landers. JULY 29, 2011 TOKYO—When the March 11 tsunami knocked out more than half of the nuclear power plants serving the Tokyo area, it set off one of the biggest unplanned experiments in a modern society: Could a metropolis of 30 million people get by after losing about a fifth of its power supply?

After a steaming July in Japan filled with 90-degree-plus days, the preliminary answer is in, and it is yes. Not only has Tokyo Electric Power Co. kept the lights on all summer, it has so much extra capacity on most days that it could power New York City, too.

The economic hit from power shortages that many feared has failed to materialize. Japanese stock prices have risen almost to their prequake levels, the economy is growing again and some companies have actually been invigorated by the demand for electricity-saving goods.

Saving electricity has become a sort of national religion. With many air conditioners set at 82 degrees, businessmen have shed their usual suits in favor of “super cool biz” short-sleeve shirts. Car makers have been forced to operate on weekends to avoid sucking up electricity during peak weekday hours.

Peak electricity usage for the Tokyo area so far this summer was nearly 23% below the peak last summer.

The drop in electrical consumption is shaking Japan’s decades-old commitment to nuclear power, which until this year supplied nearly 30% of its electricity. If the country successfully navigates the remaining weeks of the summer with a reduced power supply, the Fukushima Daiichi accident is likely to transform Japan’s energy policy. That will have global implications as nations review nuclear power in light of the worst radiation release since Chernobyl.

There’s a growing sense that Japan will rely less and less on nuclear plants and may phase them out entirely …..

The quickly dwindling supply of nuclear power has forced other regions to conserve. Only four of 11 reactors serving Japan’s second-biggest economic center, the Kansai region around Osaka, remain online. At a restroom in Kansai Electric Power Co.’s headquarters, the electric hand dryer is turned off and a sign asks people to dry their hands with a towel purchased from a 100-yen ($1.25) store.

Osaka’s results so far are similar to Tokyo’s: Thanks to conservation, power supply easily exceeds demand. “I’m not buying this claim that we have to have nuclear power because there isn’t enough electricity,” Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto told reporters outside his office in late July. “There’s generally more than enough. That’s the reality.”…….

Many companies are already acting as if the summer of 2011’s experiment with dropping reliance on nuclear power will continue in future summers. In July, companies such asPanasonic Corp. and Sharp Corp. said they will team up to develop standards for solar-powered homes that store their own energy and don’t need help from the grid.

A Japanese alliance led by trading company Mitsubishi Corp. is investing billions to develop infrastructure in Canada that could deliver liquefied natural gas across the Pacific later this decade. And three-quarters of Japan’s governors have joined telecommunications billionaireMasayoshi Son, chief executive of Softbank Corp., in a plan for giant solar-power plants on unused farms and industrial land…..

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903635604576471803885988900.html