Tag - energy

 
 

ENERGY

Pipework at a Russian gas storage facility operated by Gazprom
WORLD / Politics
Jan 2, 2025
Russia and Ukraine end five decades of gas transit to Europe
The stoppage means central European countries that have relied on the flows will be forced to source more expensive gas elsewhere.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico during a meeting in Moscow on Dec. 22.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 30, 2024
Ukraine-Russia gas transit deal faces critical moment of truth
As its year-end expiry looms, Slovakia and a group of central European companies are putting pressure on Ukraine to keep Russian gas flowing.
Indonesia's plan to increase biodiesel mandates to 50% by 2028 could require clearing 5.3 million hectares of forest for palm oil plantations by 2042, an area larger than Denmark.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2024
The year’s worst climate news you haven’t heard about
Not enough floodwaters for dams, more coal burning and demand for Indonesian palm oil show efforts to slow global warming are flagging.
Storage tanks at the BP Cherry Point Refinery near Blaine, Washington
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 27, 2024
Big Oil backtracks on renewables push as climate agenda falters
The likes of BP and Shell this year sharply slowed their plans to spend billions on wind and solar power projects.
Nuclear fuel debris recovered from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant No. 2 reactor
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2024
Uranium detected in extracted Fukushima nuclear fuel debris
The debris was extracted from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant's No. 2 reactor.
Greenpeace activists protest nuclear power in Berlin in April 2023, just as Germany was shutting down its three remaining nuclear power plants. 
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2024
It's time for Germany to admit its mistake on nuclear energy
The main thing standing in the way of Germany rebuilding its nuclear sector is a stubborn insistence that it can’t be done.
Japan, which relied on coal and natural gas for more than 60% of electricity generation last year, has been slow to shift to lower-emission energy sources.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2024
Japan aims for 60% emissions cut by 2035 in target seen as lax
The target was proposed last month, and was criticized by experts who said the plans don’t align with international ambitions to curb global warming.
Japan aims to accelerate offshore wind development as part of its decarbonization strategy.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 24, 2024
Japan selects two groups for third offshore wind power round
The country aims to accelerate offshore wind development as part of its decarbonization strategy.
China's solar industry, hit hard in 2024 by overcapacity and financial losses, is expected to recover in 2025 with tighter market conditions and a 25% revenue growth forecast.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2024
Here’s the best climate news you missed this year
There are plenty of positive trends out there once you peer past the alarmist headlines.
Steam rises from a geothermal plan in Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture. Despite its long history and potential, geothermal provided just 0.3% of Japan's overall energy mix in the fiscal year from April 2023
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Dec 22, 2024
Is Japan finally ready to tap its abundant geothermal energy potential?
Japan boasts the world’s third-largest potential supply of geothermal energy, but this renewable energy resource has mostly been untapped.
China’s solar industry is seeking to emulate OPEC’s cartel model, but differences in technological innovation, market dynamics and centralized control by Beijing complicate such efforts.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2024
An OPEC for solar power isn’t going to work
Geological advantages are perpetual, but technological advantages can quickly become obsolete.
The average retail gasoline price is expected to rise by over ¥5 per liter as the government has announced that it will reduce subsidies to oil wholesalers.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 19, 2024
Gasoline prices rise as Japanese government cuts subsidies
Until now the industry ministry has subsidized 60% of gasoline costs over ¥168 and under ¥185, but from Thursday the subsidy dropped to 30% for prices in that range.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami reviews military equipment during an IRGC ground forces military drill in the Aras area, East Azerbaijan province, Iran, on Oct. 17, 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 18, 2024
Iran's Revolutionary Guards extend control of oil exports, sources say
All aspects of the oil business have come under the growing influence of the Guards.
The entrance of the Sodegaura LNG Terminal, operated by Tokyo Gas, in Sodegaura, Chiba Prefecture
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Dec 18, 2024
Japan's draft climate strategy spurs calls for bolder cuts in carbon emissions
The government last month presented a draft plan to aim for a 60% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 from 2013 levels.
Japan wants renewable energy to account for around 40% to 50% of its electricity mix by fiscal year 2040 with nuclear power taking up another 20%, according to a new energy plan released Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 17, 2024
Japan aims to expand nuclear power in break from Fukushima era
The nation set out a proposed new energy strategy which urges both nuclear and renewables to be utilized to maintain growth and help curb emissions.
Yoon Suk-Yeol speaks to the nation at the Presidential Office on Dec. 7.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 17, 2024
Martial law fiasco casts doubt over South Korea's nuclear power push
Stocks related to the nuclear sector have already suffered losses due to souring investor sentiment since the political crisis began.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture. A government cost estimate shows that nuclear power is likely to be the cheapest baseload electricity source in Japan in 2040.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 16, 2024
Japan sees nuclear as cheapest baseload power source in 2040
A previous study published in 2021 saw LNG-fired power plants as the cheapest power source in 2030.
India has the most steelmaking capacity under development in the world, surpassing even China.
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2024
A booming and coal-heavy steel sector risks India’s green goals
India is the world’s third-largest emitter and the rate at which it can decarbonize will have a major impact on global climate efforts.
Industry ministry officials hold a briefing session for residents over the planned restart of reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2024
Government seeks local understanding for nuclear plant restart
Officials from the industry ministry are explaining plans to allow the restart of reactors whose safety has been confirmed.
Crystal Smith, the elected chief of the Haisla people, stands on the shoreline of the Douglas Channel in Kitamaat, British Columbia, Canada, on Oct. 1.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 15, 2024
Indigenous people in Canada weigh costs of a gas windfall
The promise of billions of dollars of gas investment has renewed a generations-old debate over Indigenous identity and environmental stewardship.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.