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| Fukushima Region Solar Panel |
On March 11, 2011, an earthquake in northeastern Japan triggered a catastrophic tsunami, causing a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant and necessitating mass evacuations due to radiation worries.
Fukushima's regional administration set a goal of covering all of the city's energy needs with renewable energy by 2040, officials say, in an effort to assist inhabitants in "reclaiming" the land they call home.
Significant progress has been achieved, thanks in part to the national government's generous financial support.
In fiscal 2020, renewables accounted for 43% of Fukushima's energy consumption, up from only 24% in 2011.
However, challenges continue, ranging from greater consumer costs to persistent contamination issues.
According to Noriaki Saito, energy director at the prefecture's planning department, "a deep wish to never see a repeat of such an accident was the most essential beginning point" for the green energy initiative.
A glittering field of solar panels now borders a length of coastline north of the crippled Fukushima plant, in a spot that was formerly earmarked for the region's third nuclear power facility, a proposal that was abandoned after the tsunami.
The complex, which is the size of 25 soccer fields and was completed in 2020, is used to produce hydrogen, a clean fuel that Japan hopes will help it meet its carbon-neutrality goal by 2050.
Fuel produced at Namie's "Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field" has already been used on a modest scale, such as at last year's Tokyo Olympics, and to refuel locally-driven fuel-cell cars.
"Much more renewable energy will flow to the grid in the near future" in Japan, according to Eiji Ohira of NEDO, the public research organization in charge of the plant.
On days when there is a national surplus of production, the site seeks to take renewable energy from the national grid, reducing waste while generating new green hydrogen, he told AFP.
There were already hydroelectric dams in the Fukushima region, but wind farms are springing up in the mountains, biomass power plants are being built, and solar fields have sprouted on land left vacant after the tsunami.
However, not everyone in the region has been convinced.
According to Apollo Group, a small energy provider in Fukushima that has boosted its renewable offers in recent years, the price remains a sticking point.
According to CEO Motoaki Sagara, the cost of solar-generated electricity is "a little more" than that of conventional power.
"When we explain this to our clients, they frequently respond by stating that they would prefer cheaper electricity. I still don't believe we've reached a consensus "AFP reported on his comments.
Public subsidies encouraged Apollo to switch, but they are a "double-edged sword," according to Sagara because enterprises like his might become reliant on cash and struggle if it is not available.
"Micro-grids," which produce and consume electricity in the same location, is another renewable energy concept vying for people's support.
Between 2011 and 2016, Katsurao, a small community near the Fukushima nuclear power plant, was evacuated due to radioactive contamination, and today has just 450 residents, less than a third of its previous population.
A former rice field that was formerly used to store radioactive materials while workers carried out perilous early decommissioning work is now home to a solar farm that supplies electricity to the village directly.
Seiichi Suzuki, vice-president of Katsurao Electric Power, describes the town as Japan's "first autonomous community with a micro-grid."
When the people returned to their houses after protracted evacuations, he said, "they indicated a tremendous desire to live with natural sources of energy."
For the time being, the solar farm can only meet 40% of the village's typical annual electricity needs, while future developments are hampered by the threat of a nuclear meltdown.
Some residents are opposed to proposed biomass, or plant waste, power plant, fearing that if material from still-contaminated areas of the region is used, it may emit radioactive emissions.
However, Hideaki Ishii, a worker at a family-owned restaurant and grocery shop in Katsurao, told AFP that the solar farm had made him feel more comfortable in his home.
"It's easier to see how electricity is generated when it's generated in the community," he remarked. "It makes me feel safer," he remarked, and "it's better for the environment."
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