Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2011 July 6 - 12 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

‘N-power is a cheap source of electricity’ is a lie

The Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan calculates that nuclear power generation costs only 5.3 yen per 1kW/h on a 40-year operating basis, the cheapest among other sources of electricity generation (11.9 yen for hydro, 10.7 yen for oil-fired, and 5.7 yen for coal-fired plants). Is this an accurate assessment?

The state has poured an enormous amount of tax money into subsidies for technological development of nuclear power generation and the continued support of local economies where nuclear power plants are located. Japan’s ten power companies exclude these costs from its calculation.

Oshima Ken’ichi, professor at Ritsumeikan University, estimates that if this government expenditure in the above-cited calculation is included, the cost of nuclear power would amount to 10.68 yen, exceeding that of fossil fuel at 9.90 yen and of hydro at 7.26 yen.

The nuclear power-generating cost also does not include any compensation for losses, damages, or expenses in the event of an accident.

The total amount of damage caused by the Fukushima accident has not been confirmed yet, but it is expected to reach tens of trillions of yen. Given the potential of the occurrence of a severe accident, nuclear power generation is extremely costly and is not comparable in cost to other sources of energy generation.

If the expected compensation-related cost is included, the actual cost of nuclear power generation is much higher than the cost claimed by the power industry.

The “nuclear power is a cheap source of electricity” campaign that has been promoted with the use of tax revenues is likely to be exposed as a lie.