Corporate Japan backs renewable energy

Forty five of 109 major Japanese companies said renewable energy can adequately replace nuclear power as sources of electricity in Japan.

A study by Kyodo News said that 35 firms pointed to solar or wind as feasible alternatives while 10 said thermal power can fill the void left by nuclear energy, whose use has largely been curtailed.

Only three companies surveyed said there was no substitute for nuclear power. Thirteen firms think nuclear power should provide 15% of the country’s energy in 2030 while 11 said it could provide 20%.

Among the companies that joiuned the study from July and August were Toyota and Mizuho Financial Group. It aimed to detrrmine optimism over Japan’s energy future following the Fukushima nuclear disaster of March 2011.