Japan to boost nuclear energy as basic power source
TOKYO - Japan intends to boost nuclear power as a fundamental energy source for this resource-deprived island country, Kyodo News reported Monday.
Nuclear fuel has high energy-density as a fuel and is easy to stockpile, said Kyodo, quoting a long-term energy draft which will be presented Friday to a subcommission of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
In addition, spent nuclear fuel is recyclable by reprocessing and does not emit carbon dioxide, the main cause of global warming, said the draft.
The plan came after Tokyo Electric Power Co. was found to have falsified safety reports on its nuclear power facilities last August. The company was forced to shut down 17 nuclear reactors but have restarted three of them in order to free Tokyo from power drought this summer.
The draft emphasized the importance of winning public understanding of nuclear power and called on the government to make efforts for public support.
The 10-year energy plan will be Japan's first comprehensive national energy policy and be seen as a blueprint for future energy policies in the country.
Related News
Victims of California's mega-fire will sue electricity company
LOS ANGELES - Victims of California's most destructive wildfire have filed a lawsuit accusing Pacific Gas & Electric Co. of causing the massive blaze.
The suit filed on Tuesday in state court in California accuses the utility of failing to maintain its infrastructure and properly inspect and manage its power transmission lines.
The utility's president said earlier the company doesn't know what caused the fire, but is cooperating with the investigation by state agencies.
PG&E told state regulators last week that it experienced a problem with a transmission line in the area of the fire just before the blaze erupted.
A landowner near where…
