Scenario analysis of the nuclear power's role in future zero-carbon electricity system in Japan

The realization of a zero-carbon electricity system is of vital importance to a future zero-carbon energy system and society, and nuclear power is expected to contribute to this much more than intermittent, complicated and costly renewald energies in the future in Japan. Therefore, in the present study, the role of nuclear power in Japan's future zero-carbon electricity system was studied using scenario analysis methods. Furthermore, technical feasibility analysis was conducted for electricity systems of the proposed scenarios in terms of reliability for the fluctuations of both daily and seasonal electrical demand and supply using an hour by hour simulation. The results show that nuclear power will contribute at least 60% of electricity production, and the whole systems were proven to be technically feasible with the help of EV batteries and hydrogen for daily and seasonal electricity storages respectively, operated based on smart gird control technologies. (author)