IN-EAST News
13.03.2015 - 00:00
IN-EAST School on Air – Paul J. Scalise on the Japanese Solar Market
In the light of the anniversary of the triple disaster in Fukushima, current developments in Japan’s green energy sector have been the center of attention again. | Following the nuclear plant meltdown four years ago, Japan is still standing without nuclear power and „the country increasingly relies on imported fossil fuels“, said Scott Tong, correspondent for the radio program Marketplace. | However, Japan`s solar power market has grown.
In an interview, Tong spoke with Paul J. Scalise, Senior Research Fellow at the IN-EAST School of Advanced Studies, about Japan’s rising solar power story and the challenges the sector in Japan and in other countries currently face. Restrictions on the part of utilities controlling the grid system have prevented the solar power sector from feeding its generated electricity onto the grid on a grand scale. This refusal stems from Japan’s antiquated grid system. The so-called smart grid could be part of the solution to this problem. „The smart grid requires an enormous amount of investment”, Scalise said. “The question that always comes up is: Who is going to pay for it? Will it be the government? Will it be power companies? Or will it be the consumer?“
To read or listen to the full article on www.marketplace.org please visit:
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/world/japan-struggles-build-new-electricity-network