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| Japan needs $56b smart grid if law passes, Deutsche says |
| 15-MAR-2010 Intellasia | Bloomberg |
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| 15 Mar, 2010 - 7:00:00 AM |
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Tokyo Electric Power Co. and nine other regional utilities may need to spend 5.1 trillion yen ($56.3 billion) in 20 years to upgrade Japan's power grid if a draft climate-protection legislation is made law.
The utilities would need to spend 2.5 trillion yen to install batteries and the rest on smart meters and other devices to cope with the irregular current supplied by renewable energy, said Tomohiro Jikihara, an analyst covering power and gas utilities at Deutsche Securities in Tokyo.
The Cabinet today passed a draft climate law calling for a cap-and-trade system and more renewable energy to meet a target of cutting greenhouse emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020. The bill proposes 10 percent of the country's energy should come from renewable sources by 2030 compared with 3 percent in 2007, according to the International Energy Agency.
"Hatoyama's climate policy can be, by some extent, a stimulant to creating new jobs and investment on advanced energy technologies," Jikihara said.
Electricity from solar- and wind-power plants fluctuates, depending on the weather. The trade ministry has estimated the shift to renewable power will require a grid upgrade at a cost of between 4.61 trillion and 6.7 trillion yen by 2030.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aYWrhpsOFy8s
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