Japan reluctant to use wind power
Many factors are contributing to wind power's unwelcome reception in the country, including the fact that power utility companies are hesitant to buy power from private-sector power companies.
Solar power has enjoyed a warm welcome, but solar panels can be installed anywhere. In Japan, they can be found everywhere: on houses, in peach orchards, even serving as roof paneling for civic centers and public spaces. When arrayed in a farm, they are unobtrusive, low to the ground and quiet. Since they can go anywhere, they are widely accepted and tolerated aesthetically. Not so with wind turbines.
Most of Japan's population is huddled on the coast and in valleys — relatively flat terrain that is easy to build on. The rest of the land is home to uninhabited, nearly pristine, mountainous landscape. While Japan is blessed with strong, steady winds in the coastal and mountainous regions, residents find that wind turbines are not pleasing to the eye. There is little optimal land to work with after removing mountain ranges and coastlines from potential construction sites.
One small windfarm, scheduled for construction in Shinkamigoto on Nakadori Island, in the Nagasaki prefecture, has been protested so much that it is being placed on indefinite hold until negotiations can be resumed. Fudo Keikaku, meaning "Wind and Earth Planning," is a non-profit organization dedicated to developing independent wind projects devoted to powering small communities. The small, 1,500-kilowatt windfarm was originally scheduled for completion early next year.
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On Monday, Georgia Power announced that the Vogtle nuclear reactor Unit 3 has started a nuclear reaction inside the reactor.
Technically, this is called “initial criticality.” It’s when the nuclear fission process starts splitting atoms and generating heat, Georgia Power said in a written announcement.
The heat generated in the nuclear reactor causes water to boil. The resulting steam spins a turbine that’s connected to a generator that creates electricity.
Vogtle’s Unit 3 reactor will be fully in service in May or June,…
