After Nuclear Disaster, Japan to Focus on Geothermal Energy and Other REs

Shot of damaged reactor buildings (Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster)
Author: Digita- Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license Globe 

It happened on March 11, 2011 - first came the earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohuku, now known to be the most powerful earthquake ever to have hit Japan. Then, the tsunami hit, with the height of the waves reaching up to 133 feet, formidable and terrifying by any standard.

But that wasn't all. What came next compounded the terror: a series of malfunctioning equipment, nuclear meltdowns and explosions, culminating in the release of radioactive materials into the air. 

The world watched as events unfolded and reports came in about the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, sharing in the grief and despair of the Japanese.

More than a year later,  Japan now has a strong and high interest in finding alternative energy sources, largely fueled by the fears and safety issues brought on by the tragedies that happened in March 2011. 

To appease the people’s safety apprehensions, Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors were disabled right after the disaster. Only two have since resumed their operations.

Proponents of renewable energy have long been advocating that geothermal energy may not only address the power demands of the Japanese, but also help alleviate the country’s power crisis. 

This is not a far-fetched scenario. In fact, it is highly probable, particularly now that energy supply in Japan is not really that stable.

Digging deep into the bowels of the earth for the steam that can provide the much needed clean energy and safe power through a geothermal plant is a very enticing alternative, compared to a nuclear plant.
The Japanese government recently announced its plans to triple renewable energy sources by 2030, inclusive of course, of geothermal energy. The first-ever geothermal power plant began its operations in 1966 in Iwate Prefecture near Akita Prefecture. 17 geothermal plants are currently in active service nationwide, and nine of these are located near or within designated national parks and monuments.

The existing geothermal plants generate 535 megawatts of energy, accounting for about 0.2 percent of the country’s total energy output. This is very small, compared to the estimated potential of Japan, since more than 20 gigawatts of geothermal energy capacity could still be developed.

Several years ago, there was a hump to be considered in implementing geothermal power projects, or even geothermal exploration in Japan. Almost 80 percent of Japan’s potential geothermal reserves are located in areas designated as national parks and monuments. When Japan was only starting to develop its geothermal resources, this didn’t bother anyone. However priorities soon shifted and in 1974, advocacies for environmental protection led to the banning of further developments.

But by 2010, priorities once again shifted as global warming concerns and the introduction of green energy goals ushered the Ministry of the Environment to review the existing policies on exploiting geothermal energy reserves located in national parks.

In March of 2012, the Japanese government finally lifted its decades-old ban thus allowing geothermal exploration projects in five new potential sites to commence under supervision, as these geothermal reserves are found in national parks and monuments.

Japan's situation regarding clean energy, specifically geothermal exploration and geothermal power plants, is not unique. 

In the Philippines for example, there is a nearly parallel situation in Sorsogon, in the Southern Bicol region, with the Southern Bicol Geothermal Project often mistakenly called Bulusan Geothermal exploration initiatives.  (Mt. Bulusan is the volcano proximate to the geothermal exploration area being considered, hence confusion sometimes arises.)

As is the case with Japan, the national government of the Philippines, through the Department of Energy, is fully backing not only the use, but just as importantly, the development of renewable energy sources, which includes geothermal energy. 

Fortunately, in Japan, despite some setbacks, there is strong support generated by those who see the situation from various perspectives. Takakazu Fujiwara, an official in the Yuzawa City planning office, said, “Geothermal power has been viewed by Yuzawa City as something that can generate business, so as a municipality we are actively promoting it.” 

Joining the ranks of ardent supporters of Yuzawa’s geothermal energy development is the Yuzawa City Geothermal Development Facilitation Council, a local activist group which was formed when Japan started its first geothermal projects 30 years ago — three of these pilot projects were in the Akita Prefecture.

“Many city residents, including myself, support geothermal power development because it sets us apart from surrounding municipalities,” said 77-year old Shoji Sato, chairman of the group. “It’s a unique industry that the cities around us don’t have."

Most telling of all, however, is the imperative to find a clean and safe alternative to fossil fuels and nuclear power.

That imperative is not only for Japan, but for all of humanity 

More Sensible Investments

I’ve always been a fan of “mobster films.”  Anything from the classics such as “The Goodfellas,” “Scarface,” “Cidade de Deus,” and of course the ever-popular classic, “The Godfather” trilogy – although I wouldn’t exactly say that I cared too much for the latter’s third installment. I’ve also been a fan of the series, “The Sopranos” when it aired on television.

I wouldn’t exactly say that I liked the violence and the murders (or in the mob parlance, “wetwork”). I’m not one to judge on the gray and black market dealings and the mob’s business rackets (which are centered mainly on the illegal and “shady” practices such as union dealings, drug and liquor-running, smuggling, human trafficking, and money laundering, among others) – after all, according to the character of Vito Corleone, it doesn’t actually make a difference how someone makes his or her living.

What really speaks to me whenever I watch these films is how the main characters’ alter egos (or their mob personas) are well-juxtaposed with their private lives. It is almost formulaic, bordering on cliché, but the magic works through the development of the characters. In my opinion, this is the very reason (or at least one of the biggest reasons) why people patronize these films. Despite the ugly association with the generally perceived “dirty mob reputation”, the characters are shown a different side – a human side – which displays their weaknesses, their quirks, their fears, their humorous antics, and what sets them off. The striking contrast between “mobster alter ego” and “regular family guy” satisfies the curiosity of people.

But another personal reason why I find these films fascinating is due to the fact that in hindsight, I’ve unconsciously drawn a lot of parallelisms between the films’ narratives and real life. That is when I realized that despite all the wanton display of violence, I felt some strange familiarity while watching these films. I wouldn’t exactly call it comfort. But whenever I see myself in similar situations like the characters, it helps me think how to properly reassess my actions. The lessons learned from the characters’ mistakes in addition to my own are contributing forces to help me shape my own character into a better one.

By nature, I am short-tempered, iron-willed, headstrong, and observant. I don’t really talk much, because I actually spend a lot of time thinking. I’ve learned to read and see through people. I do what needs to be done.

However, as I’ve found, this doesn’t sit too well with some kinds of people. There are times when I’ve let my annoyance get the better of me especially when I had to deal with people who talk first and think later. Further, there are even people who, due to a lack of observable reassurance because, well, I’m not too talkative, are fond of jumping to conclusions. There are those who like to give me attitude despite my best efforts to be civil and diplomatic. If these people met me when I was younger, I would have probably whacked the living daylights out of them. Especially if they had caught me on a bad day, I wouldn’t think twice because I would see it as a justified act due to provocation.

But of course, I realized that that kind of frame of mind only reduced me to nothing other than being a common thug – similar to some of the mobsters I’ve seen on screen. I didn’t want to turn out to be a brute. In my mind, the top-level people do not need to resort to getting their hands dirty. Why, they are actually sharply dressed and sophisticated people. Since I am the thinking kind, I did not really find it that difficult transfer my proclivities from being “brawn-based” to “mind-based”. Besides, I wasn’t really even gifted with a brawny physique. Further, the irony is that only when I was formally taught martial arts (Muay Thai and Wing Chun) that I actually imbibed the values of physical, mental, and spiritual discipline. While on the surface my teacher taught me the way of the fist (so to speak) I realized later on that he was actually teaching me an inner discipline – that which rests in the mind.

“Violence only begets violence. Respect begets respect,” were my late grandfather’s words. An academician and engineer by profession, he has lived through the Second World War and Martial Law. Despite everything that he has achieved in his lifetime, he remained quiet and humble. He never seemed to think that he was bigger than who he was just by the virtue of his age and experiences – rather, he saw fit that it was better to learn the lessons from these experiences and be a better person.

All these realizations and introspections allowed me to be conscious of who and what I want to be as a person. This is probably one of the more sensible investments I’ve made thus far.

Another parallelism that I drew from these films is the rampant usage of guns (minus the part about actually killing people with them). My father, a public servant and academician, is a firearms enthusiast. Even as a small child, I always remembered that it was a common sight to see guns around the house – but of course, they weren’t unsupervised. From this hobby, my father has made friends in the police and military ranks. He also gave me my own guns, but I didn’t use them anyway (and I sincerely hope I would never have to). They are collection pieces anyway – a pistol from the Second World War, and my grandfather’s old hunting rifle – with the firing pins locked away.

However, if there was one trait that the mobsters have (or at least, the top ones) that I wished my father had, is the former’s sharp sense of business. My father has a very weak business sense – so much that when we tried opening a small restaurant, the losses were greater than the net income. He consumed through the inventory of the merchandise himself. My mother constantly bewailed that he is not spending his money wisely. After all, you can’t eat a gun, right?

Actually, if only I have the right cards – the machinations, the right people, and the investment money – I would like to make one more sensible investment myself: renewable energy.

It’s because renewable energy really is the trend for the future. Picture this: the distribution of oil is naturally unequal across the world. Some nations have reserves for it, some don’t. Some have the capacity to sell it, however, the majority of nations actually don’t. The majority buys oil from other nations.

Many nations have to resort to importing oil because to them it is not a native and indigenous resource. However, the old technologies that came to rely on burning fossil fuels are still being widely used. The good thing is that as more and more nations are taking the steps towards sustainable development and green economics, the interest for renewable energy keeps growing as the years progress. Research and technology are improving the odds that renewable energy would be able to meet the needs of the people.

Energy security is a great concern especially as the world enters the coming centuries. The world’s populations are expected to rise. More people mean more settlements. More settlements mean a greater demand for power and electricity.

As oil gets more and more expensive (not to mention that sooner or later it would be depleted), the dependence on this one resource alone will prove to be less and less feasible. Thus, why not look for alternative sources which can be naturally replenished? Besides, as the world is experiencing global warming and climate change, increased usage of renewable sources gives Mother Earth a much-needed break. Fossil fuel burning has been linked to greater carbon emissions, which in turn is said to be the culprit for climate change.

The Philippines is one of those countries that seek to improve the usage of renewable energy. In fact, through the National Renewable Energy Program, the government seeks to attract the interest of potential investors and developers through incentives. Policies that are economically sound and business-oriented are mandated to bolster the greater usage of renewable energy in the country.

This seems to be working, as many corporations (with stakeholders both from the private and government sectors) are looking to secure their service contracts through the Department of Energy. One such corporation is the publicly listed Basic Energy Corporation, which aims to close three service contracts in order to develop geothermal plants in East Mankayan (Benguet), Mariveles (Bataan) and Iriga City, (Camarines Sur). Basic Energy is also planning a 20-Megawatt (MW) geothermal powerplant in Mabini, Batangas. The corporation is also looking for the possibility of having a joint venture with other companies. There is also the planned geothermal exploration in Bulusan, which has the support not only of the Department of Energy but also the endorsement of the prestigious World Wildlife Fund.

I wouldn’t mind investing in renewable energy. After all, compared to the money made by the mobsters that need to be constantly laundered, having business interests in renewable energy is a lot cleaner (literally and figuratively). Not only is it in line with the whole country’s initiative towards sustainable development, it is also environmentally sound. Earning a living doesn’t necessarily have to be a “bad” or “dirty” business. Vito Corleone may be right, after all.

So yes, if I did have the means an investment in renewable energy would definitely be another one of the more sensible investments that I would make. Hopefully, someday I would have the means.