Japanese managers' perspectives on project risks in the energy industry

Japan needs to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from viewpoints of climate change. To reduce GHG emissions, the Japanese Government has adopted a nuclear power development plan. However, when the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake occurred, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was hit by a tsunami. Since then, renewable energy (RE) has drawn more attention. The Japanese Government adopted feed-in-tariff (FIT) in 2011 which has accelerated RE penetrations into Japan. The number of RE projects is likely to increase. Project management is the key to project success. There are some project risks that can cause delays. This paper focuses on RE projects in Japan to clarify the characteristics of the project and identify the project risks. Three hypotheses are finally proposed, that is: degree of rigidity/flexibility of project scope; understanding procurement and contract forms; and the influence of natural disasters and metrological aspects.

Automated summary

Japan needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to address climate change, and the Japanese government has adopted a feed-in-tariff system to accelerate renewable energy penetration in the country. Project management is crucial for project success, with potential risks that could cause delays in renewable energy projects.