Japan's hidden hydropower country taps water for carbon neutrality

May 23, 2021 | News On Japan

May 23, 2021 (Nikkei) - Japan's effort to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 has grassroots corporate support in a region where developers are unlocking potential for water and wind power.

Starting last month, the Toyama-based regional lender Hokuriku Bank has been using only electricity generated by local hydropower for its data center in central Toyama Prefecture, about 260 km northwest of Tokyo.

The bank became the first company to sign up for an electricity plan launched by regional utility Hokuriku Electric Power Co. and Toyama Prefecture. For a premium added to the electricity bill, the company will be plugged to electricity generated from hydropower plants run by the prefecture.

A total of 2,615 tons of CO2 a year is set to be reduced. For the bank, that means a 21% cut in emissions.

Home to the tallest dam in Japan, the 186-meter high Kurobe Dam, Toyama Prefecture grew into a hub for a broad range of manufacturers early on with its ample electric power supply. Among them are zipper maker YKK and Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical.

Toyama is second in the country for potential water-power resources and No. 1 in terms of hydropower already developed.

Hokuriku Electric has announced that it will boost renewable energy output 30% by the fiscal year ending March 2031 compared with fiscal 2018 levels. It plans to build more hydropower plants and upgrade existing ones.

The Hokuriku region, located in the northwestern part of Japan's main island of Honshu, is known for strong winds that blow from the Sea of Japan. In Fukui Prefecture, there are over a dozen wind-power projects currently under government assessment, including several offshore wind projects.

The total planned generating capacity of the projects adds up to 1.34 million kW, which is more power than a nuclear power plant that Kansai Electric Power Co. runs in the same prefecture.

In neighboring Ishikawa Prefecture, 12 wind farms were in operation as of last August, with nine more under review. Many of these planned projects are in the northern Noto peninsula, where winds are strong and steady. Ishikawa, known for its tourist destination of Kanazawa, has the most wind turbines of the three prefectures in Hokuriku.

New Typhoon Set to Hit Okinawa During Silver Week

A tropical depression near the Truk Islands, far southeast of Japan, was moving north-northwest at about 15 kilometers per hour as of 3 a.m. on September 15 and is expected to develop into a typhoon within 24 hours, potentially affecting a wide area from Okinawa through western Japan to the Pacific coast of eastern Japan as it strengthens and moves north.

KAJIMA TREE Unveiled Six Months Before International Horticultural Expo

Kajima Corp. has unveiled the construction site of KAJIMA TREE, a roughly 60-meter wooden tower being built for the International Horticultural Expo that will open in March 2027.

Helicopter Rescues on Mt. Fuji to Incur Fee

Climbers who get into trouble on Mount Fuji during the official closed season could be charged for rescue by disaster-prevention helicopters under new safety measures being considered by Yamanashi Prefecture.

LDP-Backed Koja Wins Okinawa Governor Race

Genta Koja, a former deputy mayor of Naha who accepts the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Henoko in Nago, won the Okinawa gubernatorial election on September 13, defeating incumbent Governor Denny Tamaki and bringing an end to 12 years of prefectural administrations committed to blocking the project.

Flooding Hits Fushimi Otesuji Shopping Street in Kyoto

Roads around the Fushimi Otesuji Shopping Street in Kyoto's Fushimi Ward were flooded on the evening of September 13 after water began gushing from a nearby road, forcing authorities to close part of the street to traffic.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Former Boyfriend Admits Killing Pregnant Mito Nail Artist

A 29-year-old man accused of killing his pregnant former girlfriend, a nail artist in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, admitted the charges at his first trial on September 14, with prosecutors saying he used tracking tags to locate the woman after deciding he wanted to kill her and "reset" his life to before their relationship.

Two Girls Found With Fake Student IDs in Kabukicho

Tokyo police have found that two teenage girls detained during coordinated patrols in the "Toyoko" area of Kabukicho were carrying forged student identification cards containing false ages and names.

Flooding Hits Fushimi Otesuji Shopping Street in Kyoto

Lost Camera Shows Rough Seas Before Shiretoko Boat Disaster

Newly recovered video from a passenger's digital camera has revealed conditions aboard the Kazu I sightseeing boat before it sank off Hokkaido's Shiretoko Peninsula in April 2022, a disaster that left 20 passengers and crew members dead and six passengers still missing more than four years later.

Yakuza Mastermind Rearrested Over Smartphone Robbery

Police have rearrested a 30-year-old senior member of an organization affiliated with the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi on suspicion of directing a loosely organized criminal group that stole smartphones and other goods worth about 4.15 million yen from stores in Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures.