Published: January 23rd, 2012 at 8:36 am ET
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Title: Gov’t withheld estimates showing electricity surplus to boost nuclear power: critics
Source: Mainichi
Date: January 23, 2012
The government withheld an estimate that there would be no electricity shortages in the upcoming summer in an apparent bid to underscore the need to restart nuclear power plants, it has been learned.
The Details
- Gov’t announced last summer that electric power supply in the summer of 2012 “will be about 10 percent short across the country”
- Gov’t estimate greatly downplayed the supply of renewable energy, disregarding the country’s actual energy status
- Power companies were capable of procuring [...] renewable energy [...] equal to the output of about seven nuclear reactors
- Gov’t estimate stated that utilities were unable to provide renewable energy supplies.
- The recalculation found that the country would have a surplus power supply of up to 6 percent even without a government order for power restrictions if renewable energy supply and other elements were factored in
- The recalculated data was compiled in August last year and was reported to Prime Minister Kan, but it was never released to the public
Hisashi Kajiyama, research fellow at the Fujitsu Research Institute, who was a member of the team assisting Kan and took part in the recalculation of the estimate
“The (released) estimate is based on the extreme presumption that was drawn from claims by utilities. The figures in the estimate led to politicians’ remarks approving the restarting of nuclear plants. [...]“
Read the report here
Published: January 23rd, 2012 at 8:36 am ET
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Horrible implications to the story, but no surprises. What is wonderful about it, I think, is that this kind of story is (finally) coming out. For those who have been bashing Japanese culture as “repressive”, notice that it is coming out in Japan! Where are the analogous stories from other countries? Will they follow? Is the nuclear con game about to break down everywhere?
Watch this space – thanks, Admin.
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++!
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Got to hope so aigeezer. I have FAITH IN THE JAPANESE PEOPLE! Tepco and the Gov: Blatant, bald-faced, unabashed, shameless, impudent, audacious, brazen hypocrisy
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…in a word…incompetent!
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If there were any capable law-enforcement, this report would become grounds for indictment of both TEPCO and government over-site agencies. It’s obvious their decisions were self-interested and not in holding with their public-service obligations.
Everyday brings ever-more tearful revelation…
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I mentioned a while back, that if most all the reactor’s where in shut down and they were functioning, why did they need 56 reactors ?
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Exactly! Clearly, the necessity of nuclear power plants is greatly exaggerated. Do the Japanese use more energy than Americans? This makes me question whether we “need” them in America or not. Probably not! They needed those reactors because there was money to be made!!!
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“money to be made”… and weapons-grade material to be “reprocessed”, and a “nukes are your friend and are here to stay” culture to be nursed.
I find the “money” argument persuasive but not compelling, because there are other ways they might have chosen to chase after money alone, ways with less risk, less hassle, and better profitability.
It hadn’t occurred to me until now that whoever controls nukes controls everything else in modern life, not just because of potential nuke military action but because of the potential for controlling the planet’s power grid (once all those pesky oil/coal/geothermal/hydro/wind/solar thingies are dealt with).
That is perhaps one reason there is so much drum pounding for nuke “sustainability”.
http://xkcd.com/1007/
I’m guessing it’s more about social power and control than about money, although the two are certainly interwoven.
SHUT THEM ALL DOWN (no nukes is good nukes)
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The US Energy Information Administration, released their findings for 2010 that show only 9% of US power consumption was provided by nuclear power. This flies in the face of the constant claim by nuclear industry lobby groups that the total is 20%. This 20% claim always comes with the claim that the US can’t survive without nuclear power.
http://www.simplyinfo.org/?p=4706
Renewable energy sources — wind, water, solar and others — passed nuclear generation as a share of U.S. power in September, according to the Energy Information Administration.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2012/01/09/renewable-energy-passed-nuclear-as.html
As has been the case repeatably, regulators only listen to Industry, as a result they believe the lemons that industry are selling are in fact the bestest product on the market. So they give them exactly what they want, reduced regulation & larger subsidies. And then they help spread the lies industry told them.
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Great stat MaidenHeaven.
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Bones,
America has 115 and they produce only 20% of electricity here !
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I think part of the answer is that in Japan’s ongoing 20+ year recession, the governments of the day threw huge amounts of money and resources into makework projects. My understanding is that they used far more concrete, steel and so forth than usual in a Keynesian attempt to stimulate the economy. Along with all the bridges, highways and rail lines I imagine big labor-generating nuke plants were “necessary” for “jobs, jobs, jobs.”
Sorry, I don’t have links handy, but this is my impression of the climate surrounding their nuke overcapacity. If anyone has hard data (for or against this view) please add it.
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aigeezer, just some thoughts…Japans rollout of nuclear power hasn’t done much to lessen their dependence on foreign fossil-fuel imports.
They had plans to greatly increase nuclears share of electrical output over the next few decades, and they may still for all I know, despite the seismic insanity of that, as well as all the rest of nuclears negatives.
I wonder if there isn’t an element of ego gratification for those highly involved attached to belonging to the “nuclear
club”.
The last century+ has been so much about (relatively) accessible and affordable fossil fuels with their high energy content. The 20th century and our modern world has been built from oil, not nuclear, altho that has helped facilitate energy gluttony and the projection of the threat of military power. As that all enters a new and more difficult phase, it strikes me that those in the know must be deer-in-the-headlights stunned by the longer-term implications. As a result, they may be willing to do anything to extend and pretend, to preserve the illusion of business as usual, hoping for the not-on-my-watch escape of a clash between population and energy availability.
Some may be blinded by science or ignorance
of nuclears true consequences.
I agree that nuclear power has offered opportunities to centralise power and control, temptations difficult to resist for some.
The nuclear age has been marked by lies and coverup from the beginning, so there isn’t any vileness or criminality attached to it that would surprise me now.
Sorry, I have no links to hard data concerning the job creation idea. It’s probably part of the “package” I suspect.
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Those musings seem reasonable to me, or-well. The extend-and-pretend behavior in particular is rampant among the powerful, and was well documented before and during the 2008 financial meltdown in the US. These days it is dramatically visible in the American congressional budget brinksmanship games, or with the dance of denial around the insolvency of the PIIGS nations. Perhaps we all do it on an individual level where the stakes are low: “I’ll just ignore that fuel gauge reading – I’m sure there’s a bit extra in the tank” or “I really need that package of Cheez Doodles, so I’ll just put it on plastic.”
You and I have touched on these issues before. How much is “vileness or criminality” and how much is “everyday human sloppiness”? Whatever the exact mixture, it sure adds up to a perfect storm for humanity.
I hope I get to watch how it plays out, umm, I hope I don’t get to watch how it plays out… something like that.
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Japanese energy usage
Oils percent over forty
(of their own they are shorty)
gas 17 and coal 21.
Dependence on imports -
Japan under the gun.
Nuclear snake eyes!-
percent of eleven,
Hydro at three
and the rest
barely measure.
Clearly they’d better
conserve energy treasure
and develop renewable –
soon they’ll have no choice
but to make it do-able.
figures are from personal notes made in 2010 for Japanese fiscal year 2009.
Surely conservation – more efficient use AND using less – could eliminate nukes!
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11/22/2011, it turned out that Tepco estimated that they can cover all the electric consumption even without nuclear plants.
http://fukushima-diary.com/2011/11/tepco-officially-admitted-they-dont-need-nuclear-power/
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Great find, chemfood. Whoopie, Whoopie – over here! – look what chemfood found!
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