Japan sees clean energy edging out nuclear by 2030

Tokyo

JAPAN anticipates that by 2030, clean energy such as solar and hydro will generate slightly more of the nation's electricity than nuclear power plants.

Clean energy sources will supply as much as 24 per cent of Japan's electricity in 15 years, while atomic power will account for as much as 22 per cent, according to a draft report from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on what Japan's electricity mix should look like by 2030.

Though the eagerly-awaited report - the result of months of study by a ministry panel debating the electricity mix - continues to see a need for nuclear, the draft proposes a diminished role compared with before the Fukushima disaster of March 2011. Nuclear power accounted for more than a quarter of Japan's electricity generatio…