Japan's Power Companies Far Behind in Renewable Energy

The world's leading power companies were evaluated for their renewable energy efforts in a report released on November 30, 2004 by WWF, one of the largest environmental organizations in the world. A total of 72 power companies worldwide, including 12 Japanese companies, were graded on a scale of zero (worst) to 10 (best). Of 12 Japanese companies, Hokkaido Electric Power Co. (HEPCO) received the highest score of 2.9 points. This rating is based on the fact that HEPCO's electricity from renewable energy accounted for 4.8 percent of its total power generation in fiscal 2002. In addition, HEPCO received a high rating for its future plans to promote renewable energy. The remaining 11 companies, however, failed to get above one point, indicating the need for their immediate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The report, covering 72 major utility companies in the world, was released at the launch of WWF's "PowerSwitch!" campaign. These major companies together produce 65 percent of the total electricity generated in the OECD countries and Russia. The power generation sector is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for 37 percent of global CO2 emissions.

WWF surveyed these companies with a focus on renewable energy and highly efficient natural gas which generates both heat and power, and ranked them in terms of their use, sale and investment choices. Overall, the investment in renewable energy and energy-efficient resources to curb greenhouse gas emissions was weak: two-thirds of the companies scored one point or less, and more than 90 percent scored three points or less.

Among 72 companies surveyed, Iberdrola of Spain ranked best, scoring 4.3 points. No European companies received the worst rating of zero. The use of renewable energy is extremely limited in Japan and Australia, according to the report.


Posted: 2005/04/18 06:46:04 PM
Japanese version