During the summer of 2014 several high school students interned at the Cambridge Energy Alliance helping with canvassing and outreach across Cambridge. The interns also wrote a few blogs on topics they were interested in related to energy efficiency and solar power. The following is one of their blogs.
Renewable energy and energy efficiency may be a common topic in Cambridge, but there is still much we can learn from around the world.
In Japan, energy efficiency policies have been administered under the Energy Conservation Law since 1979, which forces manufacturers to increase the energy efficiency of their products. However, energy efficiency and renewable energy has become more essential in Japan today.
After the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, which took place in Fukushima Daiichi in March 2011, Japan reconsidered its energy sources for the rest of the century. At the time, Japan was still generating 30% of its electricity from nuclear power. To replace that energy, Japan had to look elsewhere. Since Japan doesn’t have its own significant fossil fuel reserves, Japan considered a switch to solar power. According to the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Japan saw a significant increase in renewable energy generation capacity after July 2012, the nation’s renewable energy production capacity rose by 5.85 million kW. Solar power accounted for over 90 percent of the increase, at 5.6 million kW.
Another impact of the 2011 earthquake was the growth of energy efficiency and conservation. This movement is called “Setsuden” and is encouraging people and companies to save electricity by taking simple steps like changing light bulbs, or turning off big screens and exterior lighting. Also, the dress code in offices has eased up in order to reduce demand for AC. Even these small improvements have proven to have a short-term impact. Greentech Media reports that “they’ve dramatically increased the awareness of energy use and energy efficiency, and large companies are running high-profile efficiency programs.” Now demand reduction makes up a sizeable portion of Japan’s power generation.
The City of Cambridge is also taking steps to reduce energy use in its municipal buildings. The graph below demonstrates the fluctuations in energy usage and emissions from year to year, with an overall downward trend.
Looking at Japan’s achievements, a key lesson can be applied to Massachusetts: solar energy and demand reduction through efficiency can dramatically change the power generation in a short period of time. Just as in Japan, there is both great solar and efficiency potential in the state of Massachusetts and City of Cambridge.
Sources:
http://fortune.com/2013/09/23/japans-green-energy-evolution/
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/states/electricity_generation.cfm/state=MA