WSJ: In Fukushima, a Determination to Move Past Nuclear Power

[nationalize the fed]

Local governments are making progress on their goal of generating all of the prefecture’s power from renewable sources by 2040

Wall Street Journal | CASSANDRA SWEET | Sept. 13, 2016

IITATE, Japan—Many residents of Fukushima prefecture are still angry about the nuclear disaster five years ago that contaminated towns, farm fields and forests. But as the cleanup continues, local governments and some business owners here are channeling their frustration into something positive: clean-energy development.


Cattle farmer Minoru Kobayashi has built solar arrays on land that can’t be used for farming. PHOTO: CASSANDRA SWEET/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Fukushima prefecture, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of Tokyo and roughly the size of Connecticut, was the site of the devastating meltdown of the Daiichi nuclear-power plant following an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. Since then, most of Japan’s 50-plus nuclear plants, which were shut down after the accident for a safety review, have remained off line.

Determined to move away from nuclear energy permanently, local governments in Fukushima, as well as some local entrepreneurs, have taken advantage of national subsidies and embraced solar and wind power. Even as Japan’s overall move toward renewables appears to be stalling amid resistance from utilities and cheap fossil-fuel imports, the prefecture has made progress on its goal of generating 100% of the power its residents use from green sources by 2040.

New solar, wind and geothermal power generators, combined with Fukushima’s already abundant supply of hydropower, have boosted the share of renewable energy in the prefecture’s total power supply to more than one-quarter from one-fifth in 2009. By comparison, renewables made up just 14% of Japan’s overall energy production in the year ended in March...snip

...Left with fields that couldn’t be used for farming, Mr. Kobayashi, along with a group of local farmers and investors, built four 50-kilowatt solar arrays on their land and plan to build 12 more by the end of next year. The group is selling power to the local utility at prices set by the government and expects to turn a profit by the end of this year...snip
Read More: http://www.wsj.com/articles/in-fukushima-a-determination-to-move-past-nuclear-power-1473818580

Interesting that the WSJ left out any mention of Fukushima's plans for Hydrogen. Ignorance - or something else? Yet most people STILL have no idea that Japan has perfected a Hydrogen Fuel Cell car that needs no petrol and emits only water as exhaust. You'd think that would be big news.

Related: Fukushima Prefecture to become hub for hydrogen society
The Yomiuri Shimbun September 12, 2016

The government is initiating a project to produce hydrogen on a massive scale in Fukushima Prefecture, with the ultimate goal of creating a hydrogen energy-oriented society.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1127104986
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0003201119