Despite globally progressing energy transition, the deployment of non-hydropower renewable energy (NHRE) in Central Asia is moderate and varies by country. This paper aims to explain why Central Asian countries with significant challenges in the energy sector are least engaged in NHRE development. In doing so, the paper first reviews scholarly work on renewable energy (RE) deployment in developing countries. For assessing the NHRE development status in Central Asian countries, the paper adopts a two-stage analytical framework. First, it assesses the current situation in these states’ energy sectors in connection to their economic growth and development, environmental sustainability and energy security. Then, it analyses the preparedness of the national energy sectors for NHRE diffusion in six dimensions: structure of energy sector, RE regulation, institutions and governance, capital and investment, infrastructure and business environment, and human capital. Based on the results of the two-stage analysis, the paper argues that more advanced economically and institutionally countries are more likely to commence NHRE development.

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The Fukushima nuclear disaster is a special case: a major twin natural disaster (earthquake and tsunami) incited a large-scale technological disaster, which resulted in a serious nuclear accident. Because the various costs are so tremendous, this triple disaster has had a pervasive impact on all aspects of life in Japan. This article describes nuclear energy policy transformation in the aftermath of the Fukushim a disaster. The study draws on theoretical propositions of governance and disaster risk governance, and demonstrates that a vested interest perspective is important to understanding the results of Japan's energy policy before Fukushima. Safety, democracy, and openness were the fundamental principles of Japan's nuclear energy policy when the country decided to diversify its energy sources in the 1950s. But these basic premises were undermined by the vested interests that controlled policy administration and implementation as the nuclear energy industry developed. Analysis of Japan's recent nuclear energy policy transformation covers such dimensions as policy targets, policy issues such as safety, the fuel cycle, waste disposal, administrative structure, public awareness, and national and local policy considerations. The study identifies process deficiencies in Japan's post-Fukushima nuclear energy policy transformation and evaluates possible ways to eliminate defects through administrative reorganization and independent safety oversight.

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