Japan's Power Market News 2024/W48

Renewables Share of Japan’s Energy Mix Increases Only Slightly in FY2023

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has released preliminary figures on the composition of Japan’s energy mix for FY2023. Renewable energies accounted for 22.9% of electricity generated, up 1.1 percentage points from last year. Although the share of renewable energies has doubled over the past 10 years, the growth rate has slowed. The government plans to increase this ratio to 36 - 38% in FY2030.

Nuclear power generation increased by 2.9 percentage points to 8.5%. This was the highest since FY2012 after the Great East Japan Earthquake, mainly due to the resumption of operations at the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors at Kansai EPCo's Takahama Nuclear Power Station. As a result, the ratio of decarbonized power sources, including renewable energy and nuclear power, exceeded 30%.

Slow Renewable Growth, Decrease in Thermal Power Dependency

Renewable energy growth was slow.

• Solar PV accounted for the most significant share, 9.8%. However, the growth from FY2022 was only 0.6 percentage points.The number of suitable sites for installation is gradually becoming more limited.
• Hydroelectric power remained almost unchanged at 7.6%.
• The share of wind and geothermal power also increased slightly.

To achieve the government's renewable energy target for FY2030, it is necessary to hasten the expansion of the introduction of perovskite solar cells, which can be installed in places where existing solar panels cannot be installed, as well as #offshorewind power.

The share of thermal power generation from natural gas and coal, which has been Japan's primary source of #energy, fell 4 percentage points to 68.6% - dropping below 70% for the first time since the 2011 earthquake.

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