IEA urges Japan to raise utilization ratio at nuclear power plants

Tokyo, June 10 Kyodo - The International Energy Agency urged Japan on Monday to increase its utilization ratio at nuclear power plants to lessen the power industry's dependence on the burning of oil and coal, and thus help combat global warming. The IEA, the foremost monitor of energy policies among its 27 member countries, put forward the recommendation in a new report titled ''Energy Policies of IEA Countries -- Japan 2008 Review.'' The utilization ratio at Japan's nuclear plants averaged 60.7 percent in fiscal 2007 -- lower than corresponding averages in European nations and the United States -- due to the shutdown of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in Niigata Prefecture, the world's biggest nuclear plant in terms of output capacity. The plant was affected by an earthquake last July, prompting its operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. to suspend operations provisionally. IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka told a news conference in presenting the IEA's findings in Tokyo, ''It is impossible to forestall global warming without taking advantage of nuclear power.'' ''What is crucial is to utilize it safely and skillfully,'' he said. The report also recommended that Japan expedite development of alternative energy sources such as solar cells and implement further technological innovations related to energy-saving steps in the housing construction area. The IEA conducts an examination of members' energy policies once every four or five years. The previous report concerning Japan was in 2003.==Kyodo