Alternative Energy Development in Japan

Japan is a country with a high population density, and this makes Japan market more difficult compared with other markets. If we take advantage of the capabilities of near-shore facilities or even offshore installations in the future, and that will give us the possibility of continued use of wind energy. If we go abroad, it's more costly because of the expensive build the foundations. But often the wind is stronger abroad, which can offset rising costs. We are getting more and much more competitive with our equipment. Price to if I measured the it per kilowatt-hour produced is less, due to the fact the turbines are getting more efficient. So we are going to create a growing interest in wind energy. If you compare it with other sources of renewable energy,

The Japanese know that they cannot become subservient to the energy supply dictates of foreign nations—World War II taught them that, as the US decimated their oil supply lines and crippled their military machine. They need to produce energy of their own, and they being an isolated island nation with few natural resources that are conducive to energy production as it is defined now are very open to foreign investment and foreign development as well as the prospect of technological innovation that can make them independent. Allowing corporations such as Vestas to get the nation running on more wind-produced energy is a step in the right direction for the Japanese people.

The production of energy through what is known as microhydoelectric power plants has also been catching on in Japan. Japan has a myriad rivers and mountain streams, and these are ideally suited places for the putting up of microhydroelectric power plants, which are defined by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization as power plants run by water which have a maximum output of 100 kilowatts or less. By comparison, “minihydroelectric” power plants can put out up to 1000 kilowatts of electrical energy.

In Japan, the small-scaled mini- and micro-hydroelectric power plants have been regarded for a considerable time as being suitable for creating electricity in mountainous regions, but they have through refinement come to be regarded as excellent for Japanese cities as well. Kawasaki City Waterworks, Japan Natural Energy Company, and Tokyo Electric Power Company have all been involved in the development of small-scale hydroelectric power plants within Japanese cities.