Japan needs to embrace geothermal energy

Japan's recent Fukushima nuclear accident is still vivid in eyes of many Japanese people and nuclear energy no longer enjoys the nationwide support as this was the case prior to the accident. However, the recent election victory of pro-nuclear Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party means that country's nuclear issues will likely remain unresolved for foreseeable future.

Geothermal energy is touted by many energy experts as a clean, renewable energy option that could reduce Japan's dependence on nuclear energy for electricity generation. 

It has been said that Japan has the third largest geothermal energy potential in the world. What this means is that Japan could use its untapped geothermal resources in order to ensure the future energy security and reduce its heavy reliance on nuclear power plants.

There have been estimates that if Japan were to fully utilize its existing geothermal energy potential, the island nation could replace the electrical output of 25 nuclear reactors. At this moment, geothermal power accounts for just 0.3 percent of Japan’s total electricity generation.

Japan built its last geothermal power plant back in 1999, and there hasn't been much talk about geothermal until the 2011 Fukushima accident when Japanese started questioning whether the policy to funnel most of its resources to nuclear energy is right or not.

The country's geothermal potential alone is more than enough for Japan to seriously consider geothermal energy. Add to this global clean energy race and the risk of future nuclear accidents and all of the sudden geothermal energy looks lot more attractive than the plan of building more nuclear power plants.