fukushima's Nuclear disaster of 2011 left behind largescale destruction and farmland became unproductive. It was not possible to bring back agriculture and the Japanese went in for an innovative approach to recover the wasteland. They hit upon the novel idea of converting the open spaces into farms of a different kind. They wanted to set up farms to produce Renewable Energy like wind power and solar power. The farms would send the electricity thus generated to Tokyo while Fukushima would get one more chance to be productive. Instead of nuclear energy, it would shift the focus to produce another form of energy which will replace fossil fuels and reduce global warming.

Daily Mail UK gives a lowdown on the project. It is the brainwave of a group of Japanese investors and they want to make use of the abandoned land in Fukushima to set up wind and solar power plants. These will generate electricity for Tokyo. There will be a number of solar power plants and wind power plants built on the farmland at an estimated cost of $2.75 billion. It will meet the requirement of alternate energy, which will be clean.

New look Fukushima could appear by 2024

The Development Bank of Japan and Mizuho Bank have joined hands with a group of investors to finance the project.

The government of Japan will contribute $275 million in the form of subsidies. An official confirms this. If things go as per plan, it could be completed by March 2024 and a new look Fukushima could emerge geared to produce renewable energy.

Daily Mail UK elaborates on the scope of the project.

They expect the solar and wind power plants to generate 600 megawatts of electricity. That would translate into approximately two-thirds of the output of a nuclear power plant. There will be a network to link the plants and that would cost an additional $266 million. Tokyo Electric Power Company TEPCO would oversee the grid and distribution of the electricity.

Last year, Japan generated 83 percent of its energy from fossil fuels and nuclear generators. It plans to make a gradual shift to renewable energy. Its target is to achieve a 22 percent to 24 percent switchover by 2030 and total dependency by 2040.

Focus gradually shifting to solar and wind power

According to China Daily HK, Japan plans to transform the Fukushima prefecture into a clean-energy hub. It used to be the home of nuclear power but the double disaster of 2011 in the form of a tsunami and an earthquake, left the farmland tainted by radiation and unfit for agriculture. The Japanese have evolved a plan to put the land to good use by developing farms to produce alternate energy using wind power and solar power. Such an action would help rejuvenate the area and lift the morale of the people.
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