Japan's government predicts solar power will be the cheapest source of electricity in under a decade – even cheaper than nuclear.
This would mainly be thanks to the falling prices of solar panels.
The forecast was announced by the industry ministry on Monday. It estimated the costs of power generation in 2030, assuming new plants will be built.
The ministry says the cost of solar power for businesses would be around eight to 11 yen per kilowatt-hour.
Nuclear power would be a bit more than that. Thermal power from liquefied natural gas would cost around 10 to 14 yen. Coal-fired power would be the most expensive, as high as 22 yen per kilowatt-hour.
An estimate done six years ago found nuclear power to be the cheapest, but growing safety costs have pushed prices up.
Ministry officials say different forms of power generation need to be maintained because electricity from solar fluctuates widely, depending on the weather.
◆in under a decade １０年未満で
This would mainly be thanks to the falling prices of solar panels.
The forecast was announced by the industry ministry on Monday. It estimated the costs of power generation in 2030, assuming new plants will be built.
The ministry says the cost of solar power for businesses would be around eight to 11 yen per kilowatt-hour.
Nuclear power would be a bit more than that. Thermal power from liquefied natural gas would cost around 10 to 14 yen. Coal-fired power would be the most expensive, as high as 22 yen per kilowatt-hour.
An estimate done six years ago found nuclear power to be the cheapest, but growing safety costs have pushed prices up.
Ministry officials say different forms of power generation need to be maintained because electricity from solar fluctuates widely, depending on the weather.
◆in under a decade １０年未満で
◆thermal 熱の relating to or caused by heat
◆fluctuate 変動する、上下する if a price or amount fluctuates, it keeps changing and becoming higher and lower 類義語 vary