Japan’s dependence on renewable energy rising

Japan’s “zero nuclear power” state accelerating development of renewable energy. As a result, the total amount of grid-connected installations may reach 7 GW this year or triple the installations last year. Ever since the Fukushima nuclear disaster, most of the nuclear power plants have been shut down causing the usage of nuclear power to drop from 33% in 2010 to 2.15% in 2012. The top 10 power utilities significantly increased the usage of thermal power generation from 59.1% in 2010 to 89.8% in 2012. This forced Japan to import large quantities of coal, oil, natural gas and other fuels. These utilities have purchased more power generated from solar energy since 2008. The annual growth rate increased from 9.25% in 2008 to 45.89% in 2011. According to EnergyTrend, the amount of grid-connected installations in Japan has continued to increase.