Woigik comments

How is he not fired/removed/resigning already!?

Japan, as an island nation, is poised to lead and support other islands in the transition to 100% clean energy, yet once a position is adopted, its very hard for Japan to change. Hawaii has taken the lead in shifting to clean energy, mostly through policy, yet the Japan national government refuses to make changes that would enable the shift. Regional power companies fall back on "resiliency is king" in their explanations to why they cant take on more intermittency, rather than utilizing progressive technologies to move forward. Of course, there is a need for resiliency and while batteries can play a role, there is also need for turbines and baseload. Hawaii is quickly coming up to a tipping point, where a method of firm power in a clean way is needed to make the final leap to 100%. Japan has technology in waste heat utilization, geothermal, and especially ocean energy that could meet these needs, both domestically and for islands and other regions around the world, but there is a clear lack of support to bring them from demonstration to deployment, and even less in modernizing policy for grid regulation to support progress.

I think the government's stance to support in near and long term a good move, while also keeping things flexible. Its good PR and diplomacy. Japan can offer far more support than just boats. It would be a great opportunity for Japan to collaborate on renewable energy such as ocean energy, clean transportation, etc. Such initiatives would provide work for Japanese companies, while also benefiting Mauritius in a way that would create self-sustaining growth, rather than a short-term bump. Also if you have fishermen operating farther away, that means the local government would have to boost its coast guard to provide support services as well. Aquaculture technologies could provide the same food security with less risk and more resiliency.

Every summer typhoons come, so what?

The problem is that they are stronger, and threatening areas that haven't been as effected (and thus not as resilient) in the past. Okinawa can shrug off a category 5 because it has the infrastructure for it (reinforced utility poles, etc). Kyushu and places even further north are getting hit more often and more strongly, but only have wood and tile rather than reinforced concrete.

Ishiba visited our town and I actually had a chance to listen and see him up close... What he said boiled down to... Do everything yourself unless we tell you otherwise. He doesn't want to support, but rather wants support. Who the heck to they call in these surveys?

My wife wanted to see her parents (one isnt doing well), and had scheduled a trip for this week. I already planned to stay home, but we cancelled. We live on a small outer island. No cases so far, but look at Ishigaki. Their bed availability is already overburdened with only 11 cases. Our island has a capacity for 1 person and a large at-risk population that needs safe access to hospital care. I hope people will not go to small islands. While its likely safe for you, it wont be for them.

Reducing coal power generation by 100 plants is a great step, however, as an island nation, Japan could be doing so much more with Ocean Energy. While there are challenges, it already has one of only two Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion plants in the world. Scaling that up to commercial size would provide a renewable export rather than trying to peddle coal elsewhere. Allowing energy policy to be regionally varied ala Hawaii’s example could also significantly drive renewable adoption. Make utilities realize that renewables can be an opportunity rather than a burden and there will be no one wanting to buy power from a coal plant.