Describing Long-Term Electricity Demand Scenarios in the Telecommunications Industry: A Case Study of Japan

Yusuke Kishita, Yohei Yamaguchi, Yasushi Umeda, Yoshiyuki Shimoda, Minako Hara, Atsushi Sakurai, Hiroki Oka and Yuriko Tanaka
Additional contact information
Yusuke Kishita: Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-2-1, Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 3058564, Japan
Yohei Yamaguchi: Division of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1, Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka 5650871, Japan
Yasushi Umeda: Department of Precision Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 1138656, Japan
Yoshiyuki Shimoda: Division of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1, Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka 5650871, Japan
Minako Hara: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, 3-9-11, Midori-cho, Musashino, Tokyo 1808585, Japan
Atsushi Sakurai: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, 3-9-11, Midori-cho, Musashino, Tokyo 1808585, Japan
Hiroki Oka: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, 3-9-11, Midori-cho, Musashino, Tokyo 1808585, Japan
Yuriko Tanaka: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, 3-9-11, Midori-cho, Musashino, Tokyo 1808585, Japan

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Due to the rapid expansion of information and communication technology (ICT) usage, the telecommunications industry is faced with a challenge to promote green ICT toward achieving a low-carbon society. One critical obstacle in planning long-term strategies for green ICT is the uncertainty of various external factors, such as consumers’ lifestyle and technological advancement. To tackle this issue, this paper employs a scenario planning method to analyze electricity consumption in the telecommunications industry, where both changes in various external factors and energy-saving measures are assumed. We propose a model to estimate future electricity consumption of the telecommunications industry using a statistical approach. In a case study, we describe four scenarios that differ in the diffusion of ICT and the technological advancement of ICT equipment in order to analyze the electricity consumption in Japan’s telecommunications industry to 2030. The results reveal that the electricity consumption in 2030 becomes 0.7–1.6-times larger than the 2012 level (10.7 TWh/year). It is also shown that the most effective measures to reduce the electricity consumption include improving the energy efficiency of IP (Internet Protocol) communication equipment and mobile communication equipment.

Keywords: green ICT; scenario planning; electricity consumption; telecommunications industry; statistical approach (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/1/52/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/1/52/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:1:p:52-:d:61871

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().