This comes as part of the agenda to associate renewable energy development to regional revitalization, which is a priority plan of the cabinet under Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
A separate media disclosure indicates that the Japanese government will be establishing agreements between local administrative agencies, power companies, and local residents to facilitate geothermal project development. Such agreements aim to address persistent issues such as long development cycles and lack of local acceptance.
These measures will then be incorporated into Japan’s medium-term energy policy guidelines, which will be drafted by the end of 2024.
Despite an abundance of geothermal resources, Japan only has an installed geothermal power production capacity of 576 MW as of the end of 2023, ranking 1oth in the world. This accounts for less than 1% of the installed power capacity of Japan. The government hopes that, with these measures, geothermal power can reach 1% of the power mix in Japan and that hydroelectric power can reach 11%.
