Costs, Regulations Hinder Construction of Fukushima Micro-Hydropower Station: Reports

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RIA Novosti, PUBLISHED 02.10.2014

The implementation of an ambitious micro-hydropower project in Japan's Fukushima Prefecture is at stake with regulations and high costs posing major obstacles, The Asahi Shimbun reported Wednesday.

The Fukushima micro-hydropower plant is intended to be built along the River Hyakunichigawa, flowing through the village of Otama, at the site of an older power plant that stopped operating due to heavy rains in 1938.

The main challenge the Otama village government is facing is that of a financial character. The construction of the power plant requires 200 million yen ($1.87 million), while the village's core budget this year is only 4 billion yen.

Following the 2011 tsunami and a subsequent nuclear disaster, Otama village described itself as a "village promoting the use of renewable energy," the newspaper stated.

"I want to realize the dream of the residents of Fukushima Prefecture and of Otama village, which is to create a society that does not depend on nuclear power," Vice Mayor Masao Takeda told The Asahi Shimbun.

According to the newspaper, Fukushima Prefecture has set a goal of augmenting the total output capacity of the micro-hydropower plants up to 40,000 kilowatts by 2030, compared to the 14,400 kWs before the disasters. The newspaper reported that only six power plants are certified under the government's feed-in tariff system.

In 2011, the largest nuclear incident since the Chernobyl disaster took place in Japan. The accident occurred when the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was hit by a 14-meter (46-foot) tsunami triggered by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake.

The tsunami caused a meltdown of several of the plant's reactors and a major leakage of radioactive materials.

Topics: Asia, Japan

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