On Friday, an official of Japan’s industry ministry said that the country is considering doubling the capacity of its inter-regional power grid to boost the expansion of renewable energy.
Japan’s current inter-regional power grid capacity is 24 GW.
The assessments are due to the country’s target to become carbon neutral by 2050 and as the growth of renewable energy in the country has been dampened by the weak power grid.
According to the official, the industry ministry and the Organization for Cross-Regional Coordination of Transmission Operators (OCCTO) are assessing the plan to establish undersea cables to connect the northern island of Hokkaido and the main Honshu island.
There are also other potential plans which include strengthening the transmission landlines between the northern Tohoku region and the Tokyo metropolitan areas on Honshu island and reinforcing grids between the southern island of Kyushu and Honshu.
An interim report will possibly be compiled next month and in the next fiscal year, the actual plan will be finalized. The construction would likely start in or after 2023.
