Japan Unveils Deregulation Plan to Boost Clean Energy Use
Japan plans to speed up the process
of environmental impact assessments for wind farms and ease
regulations for solar power plants as it prepares to start a
feed-in tariff program in July.
The Cabinet Office today unveiled a set of measures and
policies to promote renewable energy and energy saving and
reform the country’s power distribution systems.
The move comes as Japan seeks to diversify its energy mix
following the devastating nuclear accident a year ago at the
Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant.
Starting in October, wind farm developers will be required
to conduct environmental surveys before starting construction.
The trade ministry plans to shorten the maximum time for
deliberation for each of three steps to 30 days from as many as
270 days, according to a Cabinet Office report mapping out the
measures and policies.
The trade ministry will also review if solar plants should
be exempted from the Factory Location Act, which requires
operators to plant trees and plants at least for 25 percent of a
total site, the report said. The ministry plans to reach
conclusion before July.
The report included measures that have been recently
implemented, such as expanding areas where geothermal developers
may conduct surveys and build geothermal plants inside national
parks, where more than 80 percent of the country’s resources
exist. Some of the measures still need cabinet approval.
To contact the reporters on this story:
Chisaki Watanabe in Tokyo at
cwatanabe5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at
landberg@bloomberg.net.
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