Tag - renewables

 
 

RENEWABLES

A Toshiba film-based perovskite photovoltaic module on display at the Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions booth at Smart Grid Expo in Tokyo on Feb. 28
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 26, 2024
Japan considers promoting the use of perovskite solar cells for energy
The plan is part of work to expand the use of renewable energy sources by supporting the introduction of next-generation technologies.
Former Lower House member Masatoshi Akimoto (center) enters the Tokyo District Court in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 25, 2024
Former Japanese lawmaker Masatoshi Akimoto denies accepting bribes
Akimoto said that he received the payment in question, but added that the money was "neither a reward for a job nor a benefit."
A farmer cleans solar panels in a field in the Baluchistan region of Pakistan.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Nov 25, 2024
Surprise solar boom in Pakistan helps millions, but harms grid
The rise of solar in Pakistan has many benefits, but a rapid and unregulated boom also threatens to weaken the country’s utilities and destabilize the fragile economy.
An electrical substation in Tokyo. Japan's total power generation fell to its lowest in more than a decade in the year through March.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 22, 2024
Japan’s power output falls to lowest in more than a decade
The total amount of electricity generated fell 1.6% year on year to 985.4 terawatt hours in the 12 months to March.
A Sardinian miner helmet, painted with the logo of Sardinia region, in Carbonia, west of Cagliari, Italy. Sardinia relies largely on coal for its electricity.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 18, 2024
Locals revolt against renewables in Italy's coal-fired island, Sardinia
The island a prime location for wind and solar power but intense investor interest has spooked locals who say Sardinia is being exploited.
Solar panels installed along the coastline of Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture. Due to the relative ease of starting solar power generation, mega solar power plants have been installed rapidly across the country.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 2024
Japan to mandate solar panel recycling when lifespan ends
The number of panels reaching the end of their lifespans is projected to start rising sharply in the mid-2030s.
Former President Donald Trump with Elon Musk during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Oct. 5. The Tesla billionaire is a key figure in the president-elect's orbit. One question is whether his views on climate and clean energy will have any sway.
WORLD
Nov 9, 2024
Musk believes in global warming. Trump doesn’t. Will that change?
The Tesla billionaire is a key figure in the president-elect's orbit. One question is whether his views on climate and clean energy will have any sway.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs one of five executive orders related to the oil pipeline industry in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Jan. 24, 2017.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 7, 2024
From oil to EVs, here’s how Trump’s victory affects energy
The prospect of a Trump-era pullback from some policies promoting emission-free energy has already helped spark a slide in shares of renewable power firms.
Chinese solar panel manufacturer Trina Solar's facility in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam, on Aug. 30
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 4, 2024
Chinese solar firms, ever-nimble, go where U.S. tariffs don't reach
Chinese solar firms have repeatedly sidestepped tariffs to dominate the global markets despite U.S. efforts over more than a decade to rein them in.
Appi Geothermal Energy's power plant in Hachimantai, Iwate Prefecture, began commercial operations in March.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Oct 31, 2024
Geothermal power slowly gains steam in Japan
Development of the energy source has long stalled, partly because they tend to lie beneath national parks, which are protected for wildlife conservation.
Smog in Mumbai. India and China were home to 52 of the world's top 100 polluting plants in 2022.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 30, 2024
Superpolluting coal plants power economies and the climate crisis
Analysis of coal power often miss the local contexts of the world's largest polluters and the development priorities they support.
Equinor's bid underscores the focus some wind players are putting on Japan even as they scale back elsewhere.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 22, 2024
Norway's Equinor tries again for a Japan offshore wind lease, sources say
A latecomer to offshore wind, Japan wants to build up to 45 gigawatts of capacity by 2040, which would make it a top-five offshore wind market.
China's strategic government support has enabled it to lead in the production and supply chains for renewable technologies, including wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicles.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 22, 2024
What happens when China becomes the green tech superpower?
What should be of more concern is the “soft power” that Beijing will acquire by mastering the green tech sector.
Wind power turbines in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Oct 18, 2024
Japan studying measures for more renewable energy areas
Such measures will be included in a revision of the government's plan for tackling global warming.
With a significant need for renewable energy investment in developing countries, China can help drive the adoption of global green infrastructure and technology. 
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2024
China’s overcapacity can help transition the world
A collaborative effort between the U.S. and China on clean energy initiatives could significantly accelerate the global transition to green technologies.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba chairs an Asia Zero Emission Community meeting in Vientiane, Laos, on Friday.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Oct 13, 2024
Where does Shigeru Ishiba stand on the climate issue?
Ishiba appears to be charting a new course on renewable energy, especially with a nascent effort to tap Japan's bountiful geothermal potential.
Amazon is seeking to source more clean power agreements in Southeast Asia and India.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Oct 12, 2024
Amazon prefers renewables in Asia as nuclear still elusive
While Asia remains one of the most challenging geographies to acquire green power, it’s the region with the greatest potential.
Keidanren Chairman Masakazu Tokura at a news conference in Sapporo on Oct 8.
BUSINESS
Oct 12, 2024
Japan's top business lobby proposes maximum use of nuclear energy
The proposal noted that Japan has been facing the toughest energy challenges since the oil crises in the 1970s and 1980s.
Coal-fired power plants in Bataan, the Philippines, in June 2023. A third of the 158 agreements signed under the Japan-led Asia Zero Emission Community are linked to fossil fuel technologies, a recent study by a climate research group has found.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Oct 9, 2024
Japan pushes fossil fuel tech in Asia carbon neutrality initiative
A third of the 158 agreements signed under the Japan-led Asia Zero Emission Community are linked to fossil fuel technologies, according to a report.
A solar power plant operated by Chubu Electric Power in Aichi Prefecture. Japan's significant renewable energy potential is little understood, even by its political leaders.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 7, 2024
To empower Japan, new PM has to get hot on renewables
LDP leadership candidates all toed the party line on energy policy. But now, as Ishiba deals with the reality of governing, renewable ambitions need to be stepped up.

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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.