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0 pointssrvmshr3y ago0 comments

Shinkansens run on electricity. Oil is mostly in the manufacturing and plastics industry, unlike other countries where domestic consumption is a significant share. (Tokyo power sector is mostly thermal and nuclear.)

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bin_bash3y ago

They hardly produce any nuclear anymore. Natural gas is the largest source by far.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Japan

EDIT: these numbers appear to be old, since 2019 they’ve tuned reactors back on and stopped relying on LNG as much. I can’t find good numbers on recent data but in 2019 they imported more gas than any other country.

srvmshrOP3y ago

Fossil-fueled thermal power generation accounted for 71.7% of total electricity generated during the year [2021], down from 74.9% the previous year [2020]. Coal and LNG accounted for 26.5% and 31.7%, respectively, and both fossil fuels are on a declining trend. Nuclear power accounted for 5.9%, up from 4.3% the previous year.

Source: https://www.isep.or.jp/en/1243/

Reference #4

ajmurmann3y ago

I wonder why geothermal isn't big there. I'd naively assume that they could get a significant portion to their electricity from geothermal. Does anyone know what's preventing Japan from doing that?

liketochill3y ago

Without knowing how good a geothermal resource they have, I imagine it is similar to what prevents it from being popular where I live where there is a fantastic geothermal resource: Economics, know how, FUD

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