Nuclear Power Capacity Research Articles

Dynamic modeling of the policy effect and development of electric power systems: A case in Taiwan

Electric power is the cornerstone of economic growth, as well as one of the major energy sources for modern society. Economic growth, the demand for electricity, the security of fuel supplies, power-generating technologies, and the impact on the environment must be considered in the development planning and policy making of electric power. In fact, the planning of electric power development and the establishment of power generation capacity are complex and dynamic processes, which are influenced by national policies, citizens’ acceptance, and domestic and international energy sources. Hence, this study adopted system dynamics methodology to explore the development of policy-based electric power planning in Taiwan, analyzed its system structure, and simulated the impact of energy source policies on Taiwan's power supply according to different scenarios of economic growth. The findings of this study showed that the power supply in Taiwan is mainly influenced by four sub-systems with three important level variables, including the installed capacity of thermal power, installed capacity of nuclear power, and installed capacity of renewable energy. Currently, Taiwan plans to eradicate nuclear power by 2025 and replace it with renewable energies, which could result in power shortages and power rationing.

Conceptual design and preliminary performance analysis of a hybrid nuclear-solar power system with molten-salt packed-bed thermal energy storage for on-demand power supply

In support of more efficient utilization of solar and nuclear energy in power generation, the present work proposes a conceptual design of a hybrid nuclear-solar power system (HNSPS) for on-demand power supply, based on a parallel thermal integration of small modular reactors with commercialized molten-salt concentrating solar power tower plants. A cost-effective thermal energy storage system is employed as a thermal coupling and a heat dispatcher to coordinate both nuclear heat and solar heat with power demands. The overall configuration and operation strategy of the hybrid system are elaborated. A numerical model of the hybrid system is developed based on the circulation of molten-salt. Using the model, a 7-day performance analysis of the hybrid system with different considerations are conducted. Effects of key design parameters on system performances are investigated by a parametric study. A customized evaluation parameter, named as “design score”, is defined to assess the suitability of the designed configurations. The performance analysis shows that the integration of nuclear power with concentrating solar power allows the system to be less dependent on heat dispatch to achieve required power regulations, comparing to a standalone CSP plant with an equivalent power capacity. The parametric study indicates that a higher heat generation utilization of the hybrid system requires a larger TES and a smaller heliostats field, while a higher power supply efficiency of the hybrid system is accompanied with a larger TES, a larger heliostats field, and a higher nuclear power capacity proportion. The optimum design configuration of a 200 MWe HNSPS is estimated to have a nuclear power capacity proportion of 50%, a theoretical thermal energy storage duration of 14.8 h, and a heliostats field with a solar multiple of 1.27. This configuration can completely satisfy the power demand without any heat generation curtailment during the 7-day operation. The obtained results allow the HNSPS to be considered as a promising non-carbon-emitting power generation system for on-demand power supply.

Fuel cycles optimization of nuclear power industry in China

With the rapid rise of installed nuclear power in China, meeting the increasing demands on natural uranium and rationally treating the vast spent fuel are essential issues for the sustainable development of Chinese nuclear power industry. This paper discusses four most potential nuclear fuel cycle modes in China and analyzes the natural uranium requirements under these different fuel cycle modes first based on three development patterns (low-, medium-, and high-speed) of installed nuclear power capacity. Then, an optimization model including natural uranium requirements, spent fuel final disposal amounts and total cost of electricity generation is constructed and optimization problem under two scenarios of reprocessing capacity are solved and results discussed. The annual and cumulative natural uranium requirements under these two scenarios are also calculated. Finally some conclusions are put forward based on the analyses.

Analysis of Power Planning Deviation Influence on the Non-fossil Energy Development Goal

Due to the international circumstances changes and domestic economic restructuring, the policies and planning of energy development have been adjusting in recent years, especially in energy power industry. Under these influences, the Chinese energy development goal “non-fossil energy accounts for 15% of the primary energy consumption” which planned to be realized in 2020 becomes uncertain. To ensure the goal can be achieved, a new energy power planning scheme is provided. Based on this planning scheme, the sensitivity analysis method and the maximum deviation method are proposed to quantify the influence of planning deviation on the target percentage. At the same time, the energy replacement is provided to fill the deviation. Research results shows that the main influence factors of target percentage is the hydro and nuclear power develop scale and their output channel construction. If the hydro and nuclear power capacity can’t reach their target scale, wind and solar power capacity can fill the vacancy instead. But if the vacancy of hydropower exceeds 58GW, or vacancy of nuclear power exceeds 27GW, the “15% goal” would be very difficult to achieve. Accelerating the construction of the hydropower output transmission lines helps to guarantee the "15% goal".

Strategic real option and flexibility analysis for nuclear power plants considering uncertainty in electricity demand and public acceptance

Nuclear power is an important energy source especially in consideration of CO2 emissions and global warming. Deploying nuclear power plants, however, may be challenging when uncertainty in long-term electricity demand and more importantly public acceptance are considered. This is true especially for emerging economies (e.g., India, China) concerned with reducing their carbon footprint in the context of growing economic development, while accommodating a growing population and significantly changing demographics, as well as recent events that may affect the public's perception of nuclear technology. In the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, public acceptance has come to play a central role in continued operations and deployment of new nuclear power systems worldwide. In countries seeing important long-term demographic changes, it may be difficult to determine the future capacity needed, when and where to deploy it over time, and in the most economic manner. Existing studies on capacity deployment typically do not consider such uncertainty drivers in long-term capacity deployment analyses (e.g., +40years). To address these issues, this paper introduces a novel approach to nuclear power systems design and capacity deployment under uncertainty that exploits the idea of strategic flexibility and managerial decision rules. The approach enables dealing more pro-actively with uncertainty and helps identify the most economic deployment paths for new nuclear capacity deployment over multiple sites. One novelty of the study lies in the explicit recognition of public acceptance as an important uncertainty driver affecting economic performance, along with long-term electricity demand. Another novelty is in how the concept of flexibility is exploited to deal with uncertainty and improve expected lifecycle performance (e.g. cost). New design and deployment strategies are developed and analyzed through a multistage stochastic programming framework where decision rules are represented as non-anticipative constraints. This approach provides a new way to devise and analyze adaptation strategies in view of long-term uncertainty fluctuations that is more intuitive and readily usable by system operators than typical solutions obtained from standard real options analysis techniques, which are typically used to analyze flexibility in large-scale, irreversible investment projects. The study considers three flexibility strategies subject to uncertainty in electricity demand and public acceptance: 1) phasing (or staging) capacity deployment over time and space, 2) on-site capacity expansion, and 3) life extension. Numerical analysis shows that flexible designs perform better than rigid optimal design deployment strategies, and the most flexible design combining the above strategies outperforms both more rigid and less flexible design alternatives. It is also demonstrated that a flexible design benefits from the strategies of phasing and capacity expansion most significantly across all three strategies studied. The results provide useful insights for policy and decision-making in countries that are considering new nuclear facility deployment, in light of ongoing challenges surrounding new nuclear builds worldwide.

The evolution of the Indian nuclear power programme

The strategy for growth of nuclear power in India was planned nearly sixty years ago, noting the rather small uranium and large thorium reserves in the country. This has prompted India to adopt the well-known three stage programme. The first stage is primarily based on the Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs). The evolution of technology of PHWRs is discussed in the first part of this paper. India has constructed eighteen PHWRs, has achieved impressive availability factors and some of these reactors have achieved annual capacity factors of nearly hundred percent in the recent past. Having installed a nuclear power generation capacity of 6780 MWe (4460 MWe from PHWRs, 2000 MWe from PWRs and 320 MWe from BWRs), India is now poised to launch a major expansion programme. This will be based on the increased availability of uranium from import and from the augmented domestic supply. In the immediate future, the nuclear power capacity will grow by installing a series of indigenous PHWRs in addition to light water reactors built under international civil nuclear cooperation agreements. The growth of nuclear capacity in this period is aimed at increasing the share of nuclear power in meeting the base-load demand of non-carbon electricity required for the rapid economic growth in the country.India embarked on its second stage programme with the successful operation of a research reactor named Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR). Based on the experience of FBTR and following the development of all the required enabling technologies in India, the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) of 500 MWe (gross) capacity has been designed, constructed and is now at an advanced stage of commissioning. A large increase in the nuclear power generation capacity is envisaged through deployment of fast breeder reactors. These reactors will not only help in building up nuclear power capacity but also, in due course, enable conversion of thorium into fissile U233, which will fuel the reactors in the third stage of India's nuclear programme. The adoption of the closed fuel cycle for both thermal and fast reactors has dual objectives: multiplying the fissile inventory by fertile to fissile conversion and reducing the burden of long lived radioactive waste-both being essential for attaining near sustainability of nuclear power.India has designed an Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR). This reactor can use one of the following fuels:(i)Low enriched uranium dioxide-thorium dioxide based mixed oxide (MOX) fuel primarily in once through mode.(ii)Plutonium dioxide – thorium dioxide MOX fuel in the closed fuel cycle mode. Eventually when enough of U233 is generated the reactor can operate with the U233– thorium MOX fuel.A large number of passive safety features are incorporated in this design.As a part of the long term objective of the development of Accelerator Driven Sub-critical Systems (ADSS), work on the development of high power linear accelerator has been initiated.

Reviving Spent Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing in the U.S.

Nuclear power generation is responsible for fifteen percent of the world’s electricity, and since the beginning of the century additional nuclear reactors have appeared on the global grid in places other than the United States and Europe. Currently, sixty one nuclear reactors are under construction, and three-quarters of those are located in four countries: China, India, South Korea, and Russia. China aims to quadruple its nuclear power capacity by 2020. The United Arab Emirates entered into a 20 billion dollar contract with a South Korean consortium to build four nuclear reactors expected to be operational in 2017. Nuclear power creates radioactive waste with a half-life that spans thousands of years. If nations could reduce the radioactivity and volume, and thus the potential harmfulness, of nuclear waste by recycling spent nuclear fuel, would they take this opportunity? In the United States, the answer is no. In France, however, the answer is yes. The purpose of this paper is not to advocate for or condemn the use of nuclear technology.

Multilateral approach to the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle in Asia-Pacific?

In spite of the nearly unprecedented scale of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident which caused countries around the world to review their nuclear power systems and to rethink their nuclear power expansion plans, nuclear power capacity continues to grow, spearheaded by the Asia-Pacific region. The Asia-Pacific has become a major emerging market for nuclear energy industry, which indicates that the management of spent nuclear fuel is likely to be a nuisance for the countries in this region in the coming decades. By reviewing the history of discussions on multilateral approaches to the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle and examining relevant empirical cases, this article aims to explore the feasibility of a multilateral approach to the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle in this region and provide some policy suggestions to enhance nuclear governance in the Asia-Pacific.

Importance of Advanced Planning of Manufacturing for Nuclear Industry

Abstract In the context of energy demands by growing economies, climate changes, fossil fuel pricing volatility, and improved safety and performance of nuclear power plants, many countries express interest in expanding or acquiring nuclear power capacity. In the light of the increased interest in expanding nuclear power the supply chain for nuclear power projects has received more attention in recent years. The importance of the advanced planning of procurement and manufacturing of components of nuclear facilities is critical for these projects. Many of these components are often referred to as long-lead items. They may be equipment, products and systems that are identified to have a delivery time long enough to affect directly the overall timing of a project. In order to avoid negatively affecting the project schedule, these items may need to be sourced out or manufactured years before the beginning of the project. For nuclear facilities, long-lead items include physical components such as large pressure vessels, instrumentation and controls. They may also mean programs and management systems important to the safety of the facility. Authorized nuclear operator training, site evaluation programs, and procurement are some of the examples. The nuclear power industry must often meet very demanding construction and commissioning timelines, and proper advanced planning of the long-lead items helps manage risks to project completion time. For nuclear components there are regulatory and licensing considerations that need to be considered. A national nuclear regulator must be involved early to ensure the components will meet the national legal regulatory requirements. This paper will discuss timing considerations to address the regulatory compliance of nuclear long-lead items.

Deployable nuclear fleet based on available quantities of uranium and reactor types – the case of fast reactors started up with enriched uranium

International organizations regularly produce global energy demand scenarios. To account for the increasing population and GDP trends, as well as to encompass evolving energy uses while satisfying constraints on greenhouse gas emissions, long-term installed nuclear power capacity scenarios tend to be more ambitious, even after the Fukushima accident. Thus, the amounts of uranium or plutonium needed to deploy such capacities could be limiting factors. This study first considers light-water reactors (LWR, GEN III) using enriched uranium, like most of the current reactor technologies. It then examines the contribution of future fast reactors (FR, GEN IV) operating with an initial fissile load and then using depleted uranium and recycling their own plutonium. However, as plutonium is only available in limited quantity since it is only produced in nuclear reactors, the possibility of starting up these Generation IV reactors with a fissile load of enriched uranium is also explored. In one of our previous studies, the uranium consumption of a third-generation reactor like an EPR™ was compared with that of a fast reactor started up with enriched uranium (U5-FR). For a reactor lifespan of 60 years, the U5-FR consumes three times less uranium than the EPR and represents a 60% reduction in terms of separative work units (SWU), though its requirements are concentrated over the first few years of operation. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relevance of U5-FRs in a nuclear fleet deployment configuration. Considering several power demand scenarios and assuming different finite quantities of available natural uranium, this paper examines what types of reactors must be deployed to meet the demand. The deployment of light-water reactors only is not sustainable in the long run. Generation IV reactors are therefore essential. Yet when started up with plutonium, the number of reactors that can be deployed is also limited. In a fleet deployment configuration, U5-FRs appear to provide the best solution for using uranium, even if the economic impact of this consumption during the first years of operation is significant.

China's INDC and non-fossil energy development

Global climate change promotes the energy system reform. Achieving a high proportion of renewable energy becomes the major countries' energy strategy. As proposed in its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC), China intends to raise the proportion of non-fossil energy in primary energy consumption to about 20% by 2030. That ambitious goal means the non-fossil energy supplies by 2030 will be 7–8 times that of 2005, and the annual increase rate is more than 8% within the 25 years. Besides, the capacity of wind power, solar power, hydropower and nuclear power reaches 400 GW, 350 GW, 450 GW, and 150 GW respectively, and China's non-fossil power capacity is even greater than the U.S.'s total power capacity. In addition, the scale of natural gas increases. Consequently, by 2030, the proportion of coal falls from the current 70% to below 50%, and the CO2 intensity of energy consumption decreases by 20% compared with the level of 2005, which play important roles in significantly reducing the CO2 intensity of GDP. Since China has confirmed to achieve the CO2 emissions peak around 2030, at that time, the newly added energy demand will be satisfied by non-fossil energy, and the consumption of fossil fuel will stop growing. By 2030, non-fossil energy accounts for 20%, and the large scale and sound momentum of new and renewable energy industry will support the growth of total energy demand, which plays a key role in CO2 emissions peaking and beginning to decline, and lays the foundation for establishing a new energy system dominated by new and renewable energy in the second half of the 21st century as well as finally achieving the CO2 zero-emission.

The evolving policy regime for pumped storage hydroelectricity in China: A key support for low-carbon energy

As part of its energy transition strategy, China has set ambitious targets for increasing the contribution of renewable energy and, in particular, of wind power. However, the Chinese power sector has not undergone the necessary reforms to facilitate the integration and absorption of a larger share of variable renewable energy. This is evident from the difficulties in absorbing wind power from already commissioned wind farms and the resultant curtailment of wind power. Pumped storage hydroelectricity (PSH) is a flexible power source that can facilitate higher penetration levels of wind power as well as complement China’s growing nuclear power capacity. However, regulatory policy constraints have restricted the effective utilization of existing PSH capacity and discouraged investment in new PSH capacity. This paper examines these constraints and assesses the likely impact of new policies designed to address them. Finally, policy recommendations and concluding remarks are provided. This paper contributes to the literature on renewable energy integration from a new perspective. The lessons from China are relevant to other countries going through the energy transition.

Wind Integration into Energy Systems with a High Share of Nuclear Power—What Are the Compromises?

Towards low-carbon energy systems, there are countries with ongoing plans for expanding their nuclear power capacity, and simultaneously advancing the role of variable renewable energy sources (RES), namely wind and solar energy. This crossroads of capital-intensive, baseload power production and uncontrollable, intermittent RES may entail new challenges in the optimal and economic operation of power systems. This study examines this case by hourly analysis of a national-level energy system with the EnergyPLAN modeling tool, coupled with wind integration simulations (including uncertainty) implemented using MATLAB. We evaluate the maximum feasible wind integration under different scenarios for nuclear power plants, energy demand, and the flexibility of energy infrastructure for a real case study (Finland). We propose wind-nuclear compromise charts to envision the impact of any mix of these two technologies on four parameters: total costs, power exchange, carbon emissions, and renewable energy integration. The results suggest that nuclear power constrains the room for maximum uptake of wind energy by a descending parabolic relationship. If nuclear power production exceeds 50% of the total power demand, wind will be unlikely to penetrate in shares over 15% of the respective demand. Moreover, we investigate the role of four flexibility options: demand side management, electrical energy storage, smart electric heating, and large-scale heat pumps (backed with thermal energy storage). Heat pumps (which are in connection with combined heat and power (CHP) and district heating systems) offer the highest efficiency in balancing excess power from variable RES. However, power-to-heat options offer a limited capability for absorbing excess power, as oversupply arises mainly in the periods with relatively low demand for heat. This calls for longer-term energy storage and/or other flexibility options to achieve the planned targets in wind-nuclear scenarios.

Early Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Plants: Is There an Economic Rationale?

France's recently passed Energy Transition Law limits the total installed capacity of nuclear power, which will force France's principal operator, EDF, to shut down two plants by 2017. Is there an economic rationale for government-induced early retirement of nuclear plants? An analysis of German and Belgian post-Fukushima-Daiichi policies suggests that energy policies can be myopic, with a tendency to put too much emphasis on short-term interests.

The socio-political economy of electricity generation in China

Abstract In addition to providing a review of electricity generation developments in China, this paper features the development of a framework for understanding the socio-political economy influencing electricity market development. It documents and presents a critical evaluation of the social, technological, economic and political forces which influence electricity generation policy in China. The analysis provides insight into why China's electricity generation shopping basket is being filled with both coal and CO2-reduced electricity generation technologies. It concludes that installed capacity of hydro power, wind power, nuclear power and solar PV power will outpace government projections due to inter alia a proclivity on the part of the Chinese government to set conservative (and achievable) targets, waning apathy toward pollution associated with coal-fired power, progressive improvements in grid connection and resilience, increased economic viability of these alternative energy sources and government support for these industries as strategic commercial sectors.

Utilization of the non-fossil fuel target and its implications in China

China has pledged to meet a series of political targets on energy and environmental performance, including a target of a 15% non-fossil fuel share in total energy use by 2020. Achieving this target requires expansion of non-fossil energy and restraining energy use, which has implications for achieving the 40–45% carbon intensity reduction target. The present study outlines quantitative formulas to measure the nexus between the dynamics of GDP, energy, and carbon intensity. Considering a ‘likely’ scenario of the non-fossil fuel expansion envisioned by the Chinese government and a GDP growth rate of 8% per annum, the key to accomplishing both targets is to restrain energy consumption to attain an energy elasticity to GDP of approximately 0.53. Both targets can be achieved simultaneously with the existing non-fossil expansion plan and are within the ‘normal’ range of GDP growth seen in China over the long term. This is, however, less than the value realized over the last 10 years. To comply with the non-fossil fuel target, the potentially slower expansion of nuclear power capacity must be compensated for by other non-fossil options. Otherwise, there must be a greater attempt to decouple energy demand and economic growth in order to realize a smaller energy elasticity to GDP. Policy relevance China has pledged to achieve a 15% non-fossil fuel share and reduce its carbon intensity by 40–45% by 2020. The key to accomplishing both targets is to restrain energy consumption and promote the development of non-fossil fuels. The achievement of these two targets by 2020 is analysed between share of non-fossil fuel, CO2 intensity of energy and GDP, and energy elasticity in relation to GDP. This analysis can inform the governmental energy and climate policy on the scale and pace of non-fossil fuel development, and the prerequisite regarding the energy elasticity to GDP to achieve the targets. The impacts of slower expansion of nuclear power capacity on the target achievement and implied elasticity of energy to GDP are also provided, which is close to the policy choice and actions of government on energy saving and emissions reduction.

A critical assessment of global uranium resources, including uranium in phosphate rocks, and the possible impact of uranium shortages on nuclear power fleets

Future energy demand scenarios elaborated by international organisations tend to be ambitious in terms of the installed nuclear power capacity, particularly when trying to absorb the effects of a growing world population, to account for GDPs and to curb greenhouse gas emissions.Current light water reactors use thermal neutrons and burn uranium (a natural, finite resource), whereas some future Generation IV reactors using fast neutrons (starting with an initial fissile load) will be capable of recycling their own plutonium and already-extracted depleted uranium (self-sufficient or breeder fast reactors).The availability of uranium therefore has a direct impact on the capacity of the reactors that we can build. It is therefore important to have an accurate estimate of the available uranium resources in order to plan for the world’s future nuclear reactor fleet.This paper discusses the correspondence between the resources (uranium and plutonium) and the nuclear power demand as estimated by various international organisations. Furthermore, the estimate of how much uranium can be recovered from phosphate rocks is questioned and the impact of our downscaled estimate on the deployment of a nuclear fleet is assessed accordingly.

Exit economics: The relatively low cost of Germany’s nuclear phase-out

The decision of the German government, post-Fukushima, to phase out the country’s nuclear power sector by 2022 builds on legislation in place since 2002. This earlier legislation was amended in 2010 to extend the lifetime of the nuclear plants, but the German parliament reversed this extension in the summer of 2011, slightly accelerating the original phase-out schedule; therefore, the market and the nuclear operators were prepared for the shutdown schedule. In this context, it is not surprising that the observed price impacts from the shutdown of 40 percent of the German nuclear power capacity in 2011 are smaller than some modeling exercises had projected. When empirical observation is analyzed in light of a range of economic models, the price effect of the nuclear phase-out can be expected to peak at 5 euros per megawatt-hour or less for a few years around 2020, a reasonably small increase compared with the uncertainties created by other fundamental determinants of Europe’s electricity prices. The macroeconomic effects attributable to the complete shutdown of nuclear power also appear likely to be relatively small, peaking at perhaps 0.3 percent of gross domestic product or less a few years before 2030. In the end, the management of the German transition to an energy mix dominated by renewable energies—and not the use of the existing nuclear reactor fleet for a decade more or less—will be the key determinant of whether that shift has larger or smaller effects on electricity prices or on the German economy overall.

The “Incentive” Concept as Developed in the Nuclear Safety Conventions and its Possible Extension to Other Sectors

On 26 April 1986, the international nuclear community experienced a dramatic wake-up call when the reactor core of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, situated in the former Ukrainian Republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, melted down. Due to the large volume of radioactive elements which were released into the atmosphere and spread around the globe, particularly across the northern hemisphere, the accident has been categorised as far the most devastating in the history of nuclear power.1 The incident served to dramatically and vividly remind the world of the potentially devastating national and transboundary consequences which may follow a nuclear accident, and it dispelled the myth that nuclear incidents create predominantly national safety risks. Suddenly all countries, even those without nuclear power capacity or situated in relative geographic isolation from nuclear sites, were forced to realise the risks that could be thrust upon them by a nuclear accident, even one occurring in a far distant state. Chernobyl demonstrated that despite the stationary nature of such plants, thanks to global wind currents external damage could be considerable.

The Trends of Japanese Electric Utility Industry under Kyoto Protocol after 311 Earthquake

The devastating March 11, 2011 Earthquake (311 Earthquake) in northeast coast of Japan does not only result in a massive destruction to infrastructure, it also created power supply outage throughout the nation. Huge losses in nuclear power capacity and increasing awareness to nuclear safety have begun to cause changes in power system structure and energy policy in Japan. In this paper, we began by analysing the change of electricity generation before and after the 311 Earthquake. From the analysis, the electricity generation, Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission generation and CO2 intensity of Japanese electric utility industry in fiscal 2011 were calculated. These calculations have included the impact of the 311 earthquake. The result of the calculation has shown that by including the impact of the 311 Earthquake, 803.4 billion kWh of electricity with 371.15 million metric tons of GHG emission will be generated. The CO2 intensity of Japanese electricity generation will also increase from 0.417 kg-C02/kWh to 0.462 kg-C02/kWh in fiscal 2011. In another word, if the Japanese electric utility industry would like to achieve the emission reduction target under Kyoto Protocol even after taking the 311 Earthquake into consideration, it would need to further reduce about 114.06 million metric tons of GHG emission.