Hawaii, Japan Forge Energy Bond Following Fukushima Disaster
The collaboration between Hawaii and Japan in the push for renewable energy is intensifying as Japan finds itself in an increasingly vulnerable position following the devastating 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster.
Both regions are now almost completely dependent upon imported oil for their energy needs and the economic instability that this is creating has been a major theme at this year鈥檚 , which has attracted several hundred government and business leaders from 20 countries to the Hawaii Convention Center.
In addition to accelerating a joint $37 million research project on Maui to test the feasibility of implementing increasing amounts of solar and wind energy onto electric grids, additional investments from Hawaii and Japan are likely to be announced soon, according to Brian Schatz, Hawaii鈥檚 lieutenant governor who has taken the lead on energy policy for Gov. Neil Abercrombie鈥檚 administration.
“The momentum is so palpable,” he told Civil Beat.
As of this spring, all 50 of Japan鈥檚 nuclear reactors, which provided about one-third of the country鈥檚 electricity, were down, said Kurt Tong, a deputy chief for the U.S. State Department, during a keynote speech at the Honolulu conference. Tong has served in U.S. embassies in Tokyo, Manila, Beijing and Seoul.
To compensate, Japan has been importing increasing amounts of low sulfur fuel oil to use in its generators 鈥 the competition has caused electricity prices in Hawaii to spike, reaching record highs earlier this year. And it’s raised prices for Japanese residents, too, who have in the past relied on low-cost nuclear energy.
Two of Japan鈥檚 nuclear reactors have recently come back online and shareholders at Japan鈥檚 two largest electric utilities voted in June to stick to nuclear energy, . But there continue to be widespread protests against a continued reliance on nuclear energy, said Tong.
鈥淭he future of nuclear power is now a subject of intense political debate,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 probably the top political issue in Japan.鈥
Last year鈥檚 earthquake and tsunami caused a meltdown at the Fukushima plant, spewing radiation and prompting the government to evacuate tens of thousands of people from their homes. And it鈥檚 not clear if public opposition to nuclear energy will be overcome.
As a result, Japan is moving more aggressively toward implementing renewable energy, which currently only makes up 10 percent of its energy portfolio, said Tong 鈥 about 8 percent comes from hydroelectric.
鈥淚 think Hawaii plays an absolutely central role in this,鈥 he said.
In an interview with Civil Beat, Schatz talked about Japan’s changing political climate when it comes to renewables:
Japan and Hawaii, along with other island regions, share one of the biggest obstacles to implementing increasing amounts of renewable energy: small electric grids that can be destabilized when too much intermittent energy, such as solar and wind, is put on the grids. The Japanese nuclear disaster has expedited a joint project between Japan and Hawaii to test technology that will allow for greater amounts of renewables, said Schatz:
Schatz said that Hawaii is taking the lead internationally when it comes to developing smart grid technology. But if grid improvements aren’t achieved, he said it could significantly slow Hawaii’s renewable energy push:
