Japan’s hot-spring resorts are blocking geothermal energy plants
A centuries-old leisure industry is a powerful, but not insurmountable, obstacle to progress
WHITE STEAM rises from the waters of Okuhida Onsengo in snowy northern Japan. Each year thousands of bathers from across the country travel to soak in these hot springs. Down the road, meanwhile, the spring’s underground reservoirs are being put to a new use: last December the Nakao Geothermal Power Plant began using steam from them to generate electricity. With a maximum output of almost two megawatts (mw), the plant could supply electricity to 4,000 households.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “In hot water”
From the June 3rd 2023 edition
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