LE FIGARO. – Must restart nuclear power plants in Japan?
Nobuo Tanaka. – Yes, as soon as possible. Iran represents a huge potential risk. Over 80% of our oil imports and 20% of our gas imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz. We have 170 days of oil stocks, only 20 days for gas. Iranian attack risk is much higher than that of a large tsunami! If we do jumpstart by plants, it could be missed 10% of electricity this summer.
How much would it cost to Japan to do without nuclear power?
At current oil prices, just to replace the current nuclear by fossil fuels, it would cost 3 trillion yen per year (28 billion euros, Ed).
To diversify your natural gas supplies, the construction of an undersea pipeline bringing Russian gas via the neighboring island of Sakhalin is feasible?
Just as the German decision to import Soviet gas in the 1970s improved the Germano-Russian relationship, build a pipeline could help solve the diplomatic dispute that pits Japan against Russia over the Kuril Islands. Russia's interest to diversify its customers in the Far East. Japan could also operate its own gas: methane hydrates on the ocean floor mats are a great potential, especially if oil prices continue to rise much.
How to develop renewable energy in Japan, which are still marginal?
I see no future for the solar wind, in Japan. The government will introduce a feed-in tariff incentive. This is necessary but not sufficient. To complement the intermittent energy, it takes gas or geothermal energy, and a soft market. There is also great potential in marine energy.
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