Fukushima Prefecture in Japan plans to construct 11 solar and 10 wind power plants on abandoned land. The programme is backed by $2.7bn from investors including the Development Bank of Japan and Mizuho Bank. The shift to renewables followed the core meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear reactor in 2011, after a magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami. Officials are reportedly still unsure what to do with around one million tons of contaminated, radioactive water still on-site. In China, where coal use has been rising for decades, officials have announced that they will build more than 100 new coal-fired plants.
Fukushima Prefecture in Japan plans to construct 11 solar and 10 wind power plants on abandoned land. The programme is backed by $2.7bn from investors including the Development Bank of Japan and Mizuho Bank. The shift to renewables followed the core meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear reactor in 2011, after a magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami. Officials are reportedly still unsure what to do with around one million tons of contaminated, radioactive water still on-site. By 2017, renewables made up 28% of the region's total energy mix, according to the Japan Times.