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Why Geothermal Energy May be the Answer to Japan

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For thousands of years, it has been home to epic-scale earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Yet at the same time, it is a nation that has long lamented its lack of natural resources.

So why is Japan not tapping into its vast potential for geothermal energy capabilities? And will the nation finally start to wake up to the possibility of tapping into such resources in the wake of the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis?

Geothermal power currently accounts for less than 1 per cent of Japan’s energy output – despite the fact that it is located above the world’s third largest reserve of geothermal resources (after the United States and Indonesia). The Japanese government has long imported its oil, goal and gas from overseas while investment in nuclear energy has been high since the 1970s oil crisis. As a result, at the time of the March 11 disaster, nuclear power accounted for 30 per cent of the nation’s electrical supplies, with plans to expand this to 50 per cent by 2050.

Continue reading: Geothermal

Courtesy: Danielle Demetriou, telegraph.co.uk

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielledemetriou/100114133/why-geothermal-energy-may-be-the-answer-to-japans-nuclear-troubles/