Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida remotely joins a meeting of his green transformation council on Aug. 24. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The economy ministry on Sept. 15 proposed a “support measure” to promote clean energy, a policy that could be used to expand or build nuclear power plants.

Ministry officials told a committee about its plans to “introduce a long-term decarbonizing electric power supply.”

Under the system, utilities that build electric power plants that respond to calls to create a decarbonized society would be guaranteed multiple years of income.

That money would come from funds provided by electric power retailers over at least 20 years. In other words, the system will likely be financed through electricity fees paid to the retailers by customers, including households.

The system is intended to encourage utilities to construct clean power plants for a stable supply of energy.

Another support system for renewable energy is already in place, but it is smaller in scale.

Under another existing program, electric power retailers contribute to a fund to ensure existing electric power plants can maintain operations.

But the ministry’s planned system is the first to cover construction of new power plants.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had said he was not considering giving the green light for utilities to build new nuclear power plants or expand existing ones.

However, he announced a policy change at an Aug. 24 meeting of his green transformation council, which was formed to examine ways to achieve decarbonization in Japan by 2050.

Nuclear power generation, he said at the meeting, does not emit carbon dioxide, and nuclear energy could help Japan reach the decarbonization goal.

The economy ministry’s planned new system could be used to promote construction of thermal power plants that use hydrogen or ammonia.

These types of power generation also do not emit carbon dioxide, but the technology has not advanced to a practical-use stage.

Behind the scenes, electric power companies have asked the central government for help with their nuclear power operations.

Since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, stricter safety standards have been imposed on nuclear power plants.

With the extra safety measures required, the cost to build one new nuclear reactor has soared to an estimated 1 trillion yen ($7 billion).

If the plan to construct or expand nuclear power plants becomes the government’s official policy, such work will likely be promoted under the ministry’s proposed system to push clean energy.

Customers of companies pushing 100-percent renewable energy could end up funding the building of nuclear power plants.

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