A giant construction site has been blocking
the view across the bay area. A1.3-gigawatt coal fired power station’s
construction has been the cause of distress for a number of people. A resident
of Japan, Takao Saiki, a gentleman in his 70s conversed with a BBC reporter. Looking
out over the Tokyo Bay, Saiki labels the construction a ridiculous joke.

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The plant is expected to emit over seven
million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, that too at a time when the Japanese
should be looking to cut its coal consumption rather than increasing it. The
decision is a questionable one, considering the global concern surrounding coal’s
impact on the climate.

Until 2011 most of Japan’s energy
requirements were fulfilled by nuclear power plants, the situation changed
following the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Since then, they have had to rely on
gas-fired power stations which are extremely expensive alternatives.

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Japan’s decision to build coal plants makes
sense from an economic perspective but now that they are under intense pressure
to stop using coal, they have planning to switch to burning hydrogen or
ammonia. It is a good solution considering that the plants can be converted to
burning either of hydrogen or ammonia but Japan’s ambitions go as high as
wishing to be the world’s first ‘hydrogen economy’.

Hisashi Nakai, the head of carmaker Toyota’s
public affairs division spoke to BBC and talked about a future where hydrogen fuel
cells are everywhere from homes, offices, factories to cars. In order to attain
the hydrogen to make Japan a zero-carbon society, the country has its hopes set
on “blue hydrogen”.

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Hydrogen is made from natural gas or coal
and while it is cheap, it produces tons of greenhouse gases. When these
greenhouse gases are captured and buried in the ground, it is referred to as “blue
hydrogen”.

However, climate change campaigners are
horrified by this plan for a number of reasons. One of them being that there is
no proven technology to capture and store greenhouse gases.