Fukushima Farmland Affected By 2011 Radiation Will Now Farm Air & Solar Energy To Power Tokyo
In 2011 a 10-metre high tsunami wreaked havoc for people at Fukushima as it crashed into Japans Fukushima Nuclear Power plant. This resulted in harmful radioactive fuel rods to get exposed in the vicinity. Seven years on and researchers havent yet fully cleansed the toxic radioactive waste.
The nuclear meltdown in the town of Fukushima, Japan in 2011 caused irreversible damage to the land, leaving it completely unproductive. However, now a farmland there will get a new lease on life, while also saving the planet.
Reuters
A bunch of Japanese investors have decided to use the abandoned land to generate wind and solar energy that will power the tech-hub Tokyo.
According to the Fukushima prefecture government, "Fukushima is the third largest prefecture in Japan and has diverse resources (solar, wind power, geothermal power, water resources, forest resources, etc.) and has great potential for introducing renewable energy,"
The whole installation will have eleven solar plants and ten wind power plants. These are expected to generate 600 megawatts of electricity. It is estimated to cost a whopping $2.75 billion.
These will be connected together with the help of an 80-kilometre grid that will cost another $266 million to manufacture. The grid (which will be powering Tokyo) will be managed by Tokyo Electric Power Company.
The work on the project has already commenced and is expected to fully complete by March 2024. The entire project is financed by a group of investors which also include Development Bank of Japan and Mizuho Bank.
As per a Japanese government official, it will contribute $275 million in the form of subsidies to aid the project.
Reuters
While in 2018, Japan generated 83 percent of its energy using nuclear energy and fossil fuels, it wants to gradually transition to renewable sources of energy. It expects to generate 22 to 24 per cent of its energy through renewable energy sources by 2030.
To the uninitiated, in 2011 a 10-metre high tsunami wreaked havoc for people at Fukushima as it crashed into Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Power plant. This resulted in harmful radioactive fuel rods to get exposed in the vicinity. Seven years on and researchers haven't yet fully cleansed the toxic radioactive waste. The incident is believed to still release radioactive waste into the Pacific Ocean.
