Hydroelectricity in Japan

Hydroelectricity is the second most important renewable energy source after solar energy in Japan with an installed capacity of 50.0 gigawatt (GW) as of 2019.[1] According to the International Hydropower Association Japan was the world's sixth largest producer of hydroelectricity in 2020. Most of Japanese hydroelectric power plants are pumped-storage plants. Conventional hydropower plants account for about 20 GW out of the total installed capacity as of 2007.[2]

Conventional hydropower potential of Japan is considered to be almost fully developed, with little opportunity for further capacity increase.[3] In recent years, almost exclusively pumped storage plants were commissioned, significantly increasing the ratio of pumped storage capacity over conventional hydro.[3] The large capacity of pumped storage hydropower was built to store energy from nuclear power plants, which until the Fukushima disaster constituted a large part of Japan electricity generation. As of 2015, Japan is the country with the highest capacity of pumped-storage hydroelectricity in the world, with 26 GW of power installed.[4] After the 2011 nuclear power shutdowns, pumped-storage plants have been increasingly used to balance the variable generation of renewable energy sources such as solar, which have been growing rapidly in recent years.[4]

As of September 2011, Japan had 1,198 small hydropower plants with a total capacity of 3,225 megawatt (MW). The smaller plants accounted for 6.6% of Japan's total hydropower capacity. The remaining capacity was filled by large and medium hydropower stations, typically sited at large dams. Cost per kilowatt-hour for power from smaller plants was high at ¥15-100, hindering further development of the energy source.[5]

List of hydroelectric power stations

The Ueno Dam, lower reservoir of the pumped-storage Kannagawa Hydropower Plant
StationCapacity (MW)PrefectureCoordinatesStatusType
Akiba Dam127.1Shizuoka34°58′20″N 137°49′42″EOperationalpumped storage
Amagase Dam92Kyoto34°52′51″N 135°49′41″EOperationalconventional
Arimine Dam534Toyama36°29′22″N 137°26′55″EOperationalconventional
Dashidaira Dam124 Operational
Funagira Dam32Shizuoka34°53′26″N 137°48′54″EOperational
Hatanagi-I Hydroelectric Dam137Shizuoka35°19′17″N 138°10′59″EOperationalpumped storage
Hatanagi-II Hydroelectric Dam85Shizuoka35°18′29″N 138°12′11″EOperationalpumped storage
Hiraoka Dam101NaganoOperational
Honkawa[6]600pumped storage
Ikawa Dam62Shizuoka35°12′38″N 138°13′22″EOperational
Ikehara Pumped Storage Plant350 Operationalpumped storage
Imaichi Pumped Storage Plant1,050Tochigi36°49′31″N 139°39′58″EOperationalpumped storage
Kadonogawa Power Station800 Operationalpumped storage
Kannagawa Hydropower Plant U/C2,820Nagano36°00′18″N 138°39′09″EOperationalpumped storage
Kazunogawa Pumped Storage Plant1,200Yamanashi35°43′07″N 138°55′47″EOperationalpumped storage
Kinugawa-Kurobe Dam127 Operational
Kisenyama Pumped Storage Plant466Kyoto34°53′30″N 135°51′34″EOperationalpumped storage
Konoyama Dam126NiigataOperational
Kurobe Dam335Toyama36°33′30″N 137°40′00″EOperational
Kuroda Dam315Aichi35°11′14″N 137°28′34″EOperational
Maruyama Dam185Gifu35°28′08″N 137°10′20″EOperational
Matsubara Dam50.6Oita33°11′39″N 130°59′38″E
Masegawa Dam[6]288 Operational
Matanoagawa Pumped Storage Plant1,200Tottori35°14′44″N 133°29′30″EOperationalpumped storage
Miboro Dam215Gifu36°08′17.7″N 136°54′38.9″EOperational
Midono Pumped Storage Plant[6]122 Operationalpumped storage
Miho Dam7.4Kanagawa35°24′37″N 139°02′30″EOperational
Misakubo Dam50Shizuoka35°11′05″N 137°55′54″EOperational
Miyagase Dam24Kanagawa35°32′26″N 139°15′09″EOperational
Miyanaka Dam449NiigataOperational
Nagano Pumped Storage Plant220 Operationalpumped storage
Niikappu Pumped Storage Plant200 Operationalpumped storage
Nishiotaki Dam234NaganoOperational
Numappara Pumped Storage Plant675 Operationalpumped storage
Ohashi Dam615Kōchi33°46′13″N 133°20′12″EOperationalpumped storage
Ōigawa Dam68.2Shizuoka35°09′53″N 138°08′34″EOperational
Okawachi Pumped Storage Power Station[7]1,280HyōgoOperationalpumped storage
Okukiyotsu Pumped Storage Power Station (1 & 2)1,600NiigataOperationalpumped storage
Okinawa Yanbaru Seawater Pumped Storage Power Station[8]30Okinawa26°40′25″N 128°15′56″EOperationalpumped storage
Okutadami Dam560Niigata/Fukushima37°09′12″N 139°15′00″EOperationalconventional
Okutataragi Pumped Storage Plant1,932Hyōgo35°14′12″N 134°51′23″EOperationalpumped storage
Okuyoshino Pumped Storage Plant1,206Nara34°7′4″N 135°49′16″EOperationalpumped storage
Otori Dam182Fukushima37°12′53″N 139°12′50″EOperational
Sagami Dam31Kanagawa;35°36′56″N 139°11′43″EOperational
Sakuma Dam350Aichi35°05′58″N 137°47′39″EOperationalconventional
Sasamagawa Dam58Shizuoka34°58′17″N 138°05′38″EOperational
Senzu Dam22.2Shizuoka35°13′00″N 138°05′25″EOperational
Shimogo Pumped Storage Power Station1,000FukushimaOperationalpumped storage
Shin-Takasegawa Pumped Storage Plant1,280Nagano36°28′26″N 137°41′23″EOperationalpumped storage
Shinanogawa Pumped Storage Plant234 Operationalpumped storage
Shintoyone Pumped Storage Plant1,125Aichi35°07′33″N 137°45′38″EOperationalpumped storage
Shiobara Pumped Storage Plant900TochigiOperationalpumped storage
Shiogō Dam58Shizuoka35°00′05″N 138°05′15″EOperational
Shiroyama Dam275Kanagawa35°35′09″N 139°17′22″EOperational
Tagokura Dam390Fukushima37°18′38″N 139°17′13″EOperational
Takami Pumped Storage Plant200 Operationalpumped storage
Taki Dam92Fukushima37°23′13″N 139°32′02″EOperational
Tamahara Pumped Storage Power Station1,200Gunma36°46′56″N 139°03′23″EOperationalpumped storage
Tashiro Dam40.1Shizuoka35°29′55″N 138°14′47″EOperational
Tedorigawa I Dam250 Operational
Tokuyama Dam153Gifu35°39′55″N 136°30′08″EOperational
Okuyahagi Pumped Storage Power Station1,160Gifu35°11′59″N 137°27′31″EOperationalpumped storage
Yagisawa Pumped Storage Plant240 Operationalpumped storage
Yomihaki Power Station112 Operational

See also

References

  1. "Status of Hydropower in Japan - May 2007" (PDF). New Energy Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  2. "ELECTRICITY REVIEW JAPAN 2015" (PDF). The Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  3. Fairley, Peter (18 March 2015). "A Pumped Hydro Energy-Storage Renaissance". IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  4. Johnston, Eric, "Small hydropower plants keep it local", Japan Times, 29 September 2011, p. 3.
  5. "Pumped-Storage Hydroelectric Plants in Japan - Industcards". Archived from the original on 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2013-05-03.
  6. Major Power Plants in Japan
  7. Yanbaru Archived 2007-08-04 at the Wayback Machine
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