Le blog de fukushima-is-still-news

August 21, 2015

Budget request for renewable energy to be boosted

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html

Aug. 21, 2015 - Updated 13:57 UTC+2

Japan's industry ministry is planning to ask for increased funding to promote renewable energy and energy saving measures for the fiscal year that begins next April.

The move follows the government setting a new target to raise the ratio of renewable energy in the country to a range between 22 and 24 percent by fiscal year 2030. That's more than twice the current level.

Officials plan to subsidize the updating of hydroelectric power facilities run by utilities and local governments to increase their output. They will also raise subsidies to help support surveys for geothermal power generation.

The industry ministry is to request about 1.1 billion dollars for renewable energy.

The officials will also request about 2 billion dollars for energy saving measures. That would nearly double the amount compared to the current fiscal year.

They say it will seek an energy-related budget of about 8 billion dollars in total. This would be an increase of more than 20 percent from the initial budget for the current fiscal year.