Renewable Energy Institute released a comment in response to the proposal by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) that indicated that the share of renewable electricity in the electricity supply in 2050 be limited to 50-60% of total generation, and the estimate presented at the Strategic Policy Committee meeting on May 13 of this year, which stated that “the cost of electricity would be 53.4 yen/kWh due to increased system integration costs" in a 100% renewable energy scenario.
This comment questions three issues regarding the assumptions on the 53.4 yen/kWh estimate for 100% renewable energy, and raises doubts on the validity of the scenario which assumes supplying 30-40% of Japan’s electricity in 2050 by nuclear power and CCS-equipped coal-fired power.
We hope our comments will urge active discussions and open paths for Japan to shift its energy policy that allows the realization of a decarbonized society.
Key Questions
Doubts regarding the 53.4 yen/kWh estimate for 100% renewable energy1 Why is the cost more than double that of other studies that also take into account “cloudy and windless periods” ?
2 Does dealing with "cloudy and windless periods" necessarily incur a high cost?
3 Why are the assumed costs for solar and other power generation higher than METI estimates?
Is 30-40% supply by nuclear power and CCS-equipped coal-fired power realistic?
Is it possible to build 10-20 GW of new nuclear power capacity?
Can Japan export more than 200 million tons of CO２ overseas each year?
Can Japan maintain industrial competitiveness by relying on nuclear power and CCS-equipped coal-fired power while the rest of the world embraces low-cost renewable energy?
