Country Update of Geothermal Energy Development in Japan and the Activity of JOGMEC

摘要

In 2015 METI decided an energy policy for a year of 2030 and the amount of the electricity generated by renewable energy will be expected as the same as that generated by nuclear power. Geothermal power generation is expected to be more than 1,500MW installed capacity under this new policy, which is almost three times the current installed capacity. JOGMEC, a Japanese government enterprise under the umbrella of METI, organises financial support and technology developments to encourage developers to achieve the political goal of increased geothermal energy generation in 2030. JOGMEC offers several types of financial support, including subsidy, equity capital, and liability guarantee. Subsidy will be applied during the survey period, equity capital during the exploration period and liability guarantee during the construction period of the power plant. JOGMEC also manages the R&D projects and develops the geothermal exploitation technologies. One survey project, two geophysical investigation technology developments, and one drilling technology development are being conducted.