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In-depth analysis

May 2, 2024

In the first part of our two-part series on Japan’s energy policies in the electric power sector, we examined policies affecting generation from non-fossil fuel sources, namely renewable sources and nuclear generation.

The second part of this series discusses policies affecting generation from fossil fuels, including liquefied natural gas, coal, and petroleum.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG)

Policies target reducing the share of natural gas-fired generation in Japan’s power generation from 34% in 2022 to 20% by 2030. The electric power and industrial sectors are the largest consumers of natural gas in Japan, accounting for 82% of all natural gas consumed there in 2022. Following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident and the subsequent shutdown of nuclear reactors, use of LNG in the electric power sector increased from 5.8 billion cubic feet per day

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RSS feed source: US Energy Information Administration

In-depth analysis

May 2, 2024

Over the last several years, the Japanese government has announced energy policies aimed to achieve carbon neutrality, or net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, by 2050 by lowering emissions in the electric power, industrial, and transportation sectors. In the electric power sector, government policies set 2030 targets, which include accelerated investment in renewable capacity, increased use of nuclear generation, and reduced use of fossil fuels for electricity generation. Japan’s government called the package of energy policies and their targets “ambitious.” Energy security considerations may affect the progress and pace of decarbonization in the electric power sector.

Below, we examine policies affecting generation from non-fossil fuel sources, namely renewable sources and nuclear generation in the first part of a two-part series on Japan’s energy policies in the electric power sector. A second part will

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RSS feed source: US Energy Information Administration

In-brief analysis

May 1, 2024

Georgia Power announced this week that the 1,114-megawatt (MW) Unit 4 nuclear power reactor at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro, Georgia, entered into commercial operation after connecting to the power grid in March 2024. The commercial start of Unit 4 completes the 11-year expansion project at Plant Vogtle. No nuclear reactors are under construction now in the United States.

Vogtle Unit 3 began commercial operation in July 2023. The plant’s first two reactors, with a combined 2,430 MW of nameplate capacity, began operations in 1987 and 1989. The two new reactors bring Plant Vogtle’s total generating capacity to nearly 5 gigawatts (GW), surpassing the 4,210-MW Palo Verde plant in Arizona and making Vogtle’s four units the largest nuclear power plant in the United States.

Construction at the two new reactor sites began

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In-brief analysis

April 30, 2024

U.S. electricity generation from wind turbines decreased for the first time since the mid-1990s in 2023 despite the addition of 6.2 gigawatts (GW) of new wind capacity last year. Data from our Power Plant Operations Report show that U.S. wind generation in 2023 totaled 425,235 gigawatthours (GWh), 2.1% less than the 434,297 GWh generated in 2022.

U.S. wind capacity increased steadily over the last several years, more than tripling from 47.0 GW in 2010 to 147.5 GW at the end of 2023. Electricity generation from wind turbines also grew steadily, at a similar rate to capacity, until 2023. Last year, the average utilization rate, or capacity factor, of the wind turbine fleet fell to an eight-year low of 33.5% (compared with 35.9% in 2022, the all-time high).

The 2023 decline in

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