Press release, October 1; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 1 October 2013]
Regular inspections have been conducted on the number four reactor at Japan's Oi nuclear power plant. However, delayed inspections has once again led to Japan's "zero nuclear power" status. Since nuclear power is still the major source of base-load electricity while other units are still applying for re-activation, it is estimated that it will take at least half a year to complete security inspections. According to EnergyTrend, the "zero nuclear power" state will force Japan to accelerate the development of renewable energy. Among which, demand from solar energy is likely to go upward. The total amount of grid-connected installations may reach 7GW in 2013, which will triple the installation amount from 2012.
According to the data collected by the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan (FEPC), Japan's base-load electricity mainly focuses on hydropower (inflow type) and nuclear power. Coal-fired and gas-fired power would belong to medium-load electricity and fuel oil and other energies would be categorized in peak-load electricity. Ever since the Fukushima nuclear disaster, most of the nuclear power plants have been suspended, which has lowered the usage of nuclear power from 33% in 2010 to 2.15% in 2012. The power shortage caused by the decline of nuclear power has been filled by thermal power generation. According to the statistical data, the top-ten power companies have significantly increased the usage of thermal power generation from 59.05% in 2010 to 89.82% in 2012, which caused Japan to import large quantities of coal, oil, natural gas and other fuels, the firm said.
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