Japan targets 40-50% power supply from renewable energy by 2040

Japan wants renewable energy to account for up to 50% of its electricity mix by fiscal year 2040 with nuclear power taking up another 20%, according to a draft of its revised basic energy policy, as it makes a clean energy push while meeting rising power demand.

As the world's second-largest importer of liquefied natural gas and a major consumer of Middle Eastern oil, Japan and its basic energy plans are drawing global attention from oil, gas and coal producers.

Thermal power usage, particularly from inefficient coal-fired power plants, is set to decrease to between 30% and 40% by 2040 from 68.6% in 2023, although the draft energy policy does not specify the breakdown of coal, gas and oil.

"It is necessary to utilise LNG-fired power as a realistic means of transition, and the government and the private sector must jointly secure the necessary long-term LNG contracts in preparation for risks such as price hikes and supply disruptions," the draft said.

The industry ministry's policy draft unveiled on Tuesday proposes increasing renewables to between 40% and 50% of power supplies in the 2040 fiscal year, roughly doubling the 22.9% share in the 2023 fiscal year and exceeding the 2030 target of between 36% and 38%.

Japan's 2040 nuclear power target is in line with the 2030 target of between 20% and 22%, despite the challenges faced by the industry after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Nuclear power accounted for 8.5% of the country's power supply in 2023.

The new energy plan removes the previous target of "reducing reliance on nuclear power as much as possible" and includes plans to build innovative next-generation reactors at nuclear power sites owned by operators who have decided to decommission existing reactors.