Tag - energy

 
 

ENERGY

Solar power more than doubled to 24% of Pakistan's energy mix in the first five months of 2025, becoming the largest source of energy production for the first time.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jul 17, 2025
Pakistan's quiet solar rush puts pressure on national grid
Solar power more than doubled to 24% of Pakistan's energy mix in the first five months of 2025, becoming the largest source of energy production for the first time.
An aerial view from north of the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant. Opposition parties are divided over whether Japan should utilize nuclear power while the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, a proponent of it, has avoided explicitly mentioning its stance in its campaign pledges.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 15, 2025
Energy policy debate falls dormant in Upper House election despite growing risk
Rising tensions in the Middle East have fueled concerns the Strait of Hormuz may be closed, dealing a blow to Japan's energy security.
A power supply agreement allowing Tokyo Electric Power and Chubu Electric Power to procure energy from leading generator Jera is set to expire at the end of March.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 10, 2025
Power trading in Japan set to grow as Jera purchase deal expires
The shake-up is already driving hedging activity in the futures market, as traders position for potential changes in supply and demand.
A street in Suttsu, Hokkaido, with a sign put up by an anti-nuclear organization. The small community is considering hosting a facility that would hold nuclear waste.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Jul 6, 2025
Ainu land rights in crosshairs as Hokkaido communities debate nuclear waste
Some scholars and activists are raising concerns that Indigenous voices are not being heard amid the debate over whether to host nuclear waste storage facilities.
Solar panels and wind turbines at the Huaneng Binzhou new energy power generation project in China's eastern Shandong province on June 11
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jul 3, 2025
China leading BRICS clean-energy boom with shift into solar, report shows
Most countries in BRICS remain major fossil fuel producers, but the group together produced 51% of the world’s solar energy in 2024 — up from 15% a decade earlier.
An oil tanker unloads imported crude oil at Qingdao port in China in 2022.
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2025
Major Chinese ports keep Iranian oil flowing despite sanctions
From January to June, terminals in the port clusters around Qingdao, Dalian and Zhoushan have helped China purchase almost 1.4 million barrels a day of Iranian crude.
This digital visualization shows the small modular nuclear reactor being developed by Rolls-Royce SMR, which is set to be the first in the U.K. A widely cited IEA report says global data center electricity demand will more than double by 2030 to 945 TWh — more than Japan’s current total usage.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 1, 2025
Data centers and small reactors could change Asia’s nuclear dynamic
An estimated 402.74 million terabytes of data are created each day and storing and processing all that information creates virtual volcanoes.
A wind turbine at CS Wind in Pueblo, Colorado, in 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 1, 2025
Solar and wind industries see existential threat in U.S. tax bill
The moves by the Senate, as it seeks to cut spending to offset trillions of dollars in tax cuts, "came out of left field” and shocked the industry.
Orix shares gained as much as 3.6% in Tokyo on Monday, their biggest intraday gain since April 10.
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2025
Orix to sell $1.3 billion stake in Greenko to founders
Tokyo-based Orix agreed to transfer a 17.5% holding in Greenko, out of its total ownership of 20%, to AM Green Power.
A woman wearing sun-protective clothing in Beijing on June 23
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 30, 2025
China’s scorching heat poses summer test for electricity grid
Eastern China may face a "long-lasting high temperature war,” the state weather bureau said last week.
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Jun 29, 2025
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
With hot weather and a growing population, the region is becoming a key growth market for Daikin and other players. But experts warn of a vicious cycle leading to more emissions.
Workers build a scaffolding platform during construction at the Yamal LNG plant, operated by Novatek, in Sabetta, Russia, in August 2018.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2025
Russia tries again to expand LNG exports upended by sanctions
Since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russian gas pipeline exports to Europe have dwindled, and shipping more fuel via seaborne LNG tankers provides an attractive revenue stream.
The government plans to spend ¥288.1 billion from its fiscal 2025 budget reserves for electricity and gas subsidies, which will help lower energy bills next month.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2025
Household electricity bills in Japan set to fall in July due to subsidies
The nation's 10 major electricity suppliers said Friday that power bills for standard households will fall by between ¥520 and ¥691 in July from the previous month.
Tokyo Gas is in talks with at least four U.S. liquefied natural gas suppliers to secure a purchase deal, according to sources.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 26, 2025
Tokyo gas in talks to seal long-term U.S. LNG purchase deals
Japan’s largest gas distributor is in talks with at least four companies over supply from projects dotting the U.S. Gulf Coast, according to sources.
Power supply shortages may occur even if nuclear power reactors and aging thermal power plants are rebuilt, an industry organization warns.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 26, 2025
Japan's power demand may grow by up to 40% by 2050
A report warned that supply shortages may occur even if nuclear power reactors and aging thermal power plants are rebuilt.
It is believed that Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings cannot reactivate the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant's No. 7 reactor until August 2029, when an antiterror measure is scheduled to be in place.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2025
Tepco changes Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear reactor restart plan
The firm has decided to put the No. 6 reactor back online ahead of the No. 7 unit, which is ready to be restarted.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press before boarding Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 25, 2025
Trump baffles with sudden U-turn on China buying Iranian oil
U.S. Treasury and State department officials handling Iranian oil sanctions were surprised by Trump’s statement and uncertain how to immediately interpret it.
The Strait of Hormuz separating Iran (top) from the United Arab Emirates and Oman (bottom) as seen from the International Space Station in 2021. More than half of the oil imported by East Asia passes through the Strait, experts estimate.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 24, 2025
Asian countries most vulnerable to Strait of Hormuz blockade
Japanese customs data showed 95% of crude oil imports last year came from the Middle East.
Protesters, predominantly Houthi supporters, burn Israeli and U.S. flags as they demonstrate in solidarity with Palestinians and Iran, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Sanaa, Yemen, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 23, 2025
How a cornered Iran could wreak havoc on global oil trade
Iran has over the years threatened multiple times to shut the Strait of Hormuz — a narrow stretch of water through which a fifth of the world’s oil supply flows each day.
Japan sees liquefied natural gas as vital to energy security.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2025
Japan seeks gas past 2050, with AI and data centers set to lift demand
The government expects a boom in artificial intelligence, data centers and semiconductor chip-making factories to revive power demand.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo