National Oct 17, 2017
Kansai Electric may scrap two aging nuclear reactors at Oi plant
Source says utility may take units offline to avoid massive costs required to meet stricter safety requirements in place since Fukushima crisis.
Business Oct 14, 2017
Balance of power: Shift toward renewable energy appears to be picking up steam
by Eric Johnston
Five years ago, Japan introduced a feed-in tariff system in a bid to promote the introduction of renewable energy on a large scale following the collapse of public trust in nuclear power due to the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, and ...
Business Oct 14, 2017
U.S. regulators OK Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley natural gas pipelines
RICHMOND, Virginia AP A divided panel of federal regulators granted approvals Friday evening for the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley natural gas pipelines, major East Coast projects. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's authorization had been widely expected by both supporters and opponents of the pipelines. The certificates ...
World / Science & Health Oct 12, 2017
From thin air to stone: Greenhouse gas test starts in Iceland
A Swiss company will start to extract carbon dioxide from thin air in Iceland on Thursday, seeking to transform the gas into rock far below ground in a first test of a costly technology meant to slow climate change. The engineering experiment, by Swiss firm ...
National Oct 8, 2017
Solar cars, including four from Japan, begin 3,000-km race through center of Australia
Vehicles entered by four Japanese teams were among 38 solar-powered cars that set out Sunday from the northern Australian city of Darwin on a 3,000-km endurance race that will take them through the center of the continent. Teams from 19 countries and regions entered ...
Asia Pacific Oct 8, 2017
Solar panels bought from China light up lives of power-starved North Koreans
by Sebastien Berger
In the turbine hall at North Korea's Wonsan No. 5 hydropower station, a placard mounted on a wall proclaims: "Prosperous and Powerful Nation." But when it comes to electricity the North is anything but. The country has made rapid progress in its weapons program under ...
World / Science & Health Oct 7, 2017
EPA moves to rescind Obama plan to slow global warming
The Trump administration is moving to roll back the centerpiece of President Barack Obama's efforts to slow global warming, seeking to ease restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants. In a plan expected to be made public in coming days, the Environmental Protection ...
World / Politics Oct 5, 2017
Saudi king and Putin set to clinch energy and arms deals during landmark Russia visit
On a landmark visit to Russia, Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz al-Saud Salman and President Vladimir Putin were set on Thursday to clinch a host of multibillion-dollar energy and defense deals despite discord over the Syrian war. The first official trip to Russia by ...
National Sep 27, 2017
Fuel shortage looms as Japan fires up biomass energy
by Yuka Obayashi
As the sun sets on Japan's solar energy boom, companies and investors are rushing into wood-burning biomass projects to lock in still-high government subsidies. More than 800 projects have already won government approval, offering 12.4 gigawatts of capacity — equal to 12 nuclear reactors and ...
Business Sep 22, 2017
Nuclear experts head to China to test experimental reactors
With scientists from Western nations finding it difficult to raise enough money to build experimental plants at home, China is becoming the testing ground for a new breed of nuclear power stations designed to be safer and cheaper. China National Nuclear Power Co. this month ...
National Sep 20, 2017
Dying Japanese villages, towns run gas stands to keep vital supply chains going
by Osamu Tsukimori
In Shimukappu, a village in Hokkaido and home to a popular skiing resort, residents are to reopen the sole gas station, which closed four years ago as sales declined. It's a similar story elsewhere in the country, where oil demand has dropped by nearly a ...
Asia Pacific Sep 17, 2017
Could North Korea copy Nazi Germany in event of a total oil ban?
by David Tweed and Stephen Stapczynski
As the U.S. and its allies look to impose even stricter measures against North Korea, leader Kim Jong Un could find inspiration from oppressive regimes of yesteryear in Nazi Germany and Apartheid-era South Africa. Both managed to survive oil blockades with the help of liquefying ...