Tag - utilities

 
 

UTILITIES

Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 3, 2014
Asian LNG buyers disappointed by slow pace of gain in U.S. gas exports
North American liquefied natural gas projects, once believed to be the panacea that would save Asia from paying top dollar for the super chilled fuel, are proving to be less of a game-changer than originally expected.
EDITORIALS
Nov 2, 2014
Too soon for a nuclear restart
The city assembly and the mayor of Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, have given their nod to restarting Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Sendai nuclear power plant, although the concerns of many local residents have been left unaddressed.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Oct 25, 2014
'No change' in atomic restart policy, says new industry minister
New industry minister Yoichi Miyazawa said Thursday he will try to persuade residents near the Sendai nuclear plant in Kagoshima Prefecture why its two reactors should no longer stand idle.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2014
Clean energy boom challenges power grid
Four regional utilities stopped signing contracts to buy renewable energy from big solar power plants and other suppliers starting Wednesday, limiting an influx that is testing the nation's electricity grid.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2014
Volcanic eruption fires concern about Kagoshima reactor restarts
Saturday's eruption of Mount Ontake is likely to set back plans to restart nuclear reactors in Kagoshima Prefecture and possibly elsewhere, as local officials and residents start debating how safe the plants would be in the event of a nearby volcanic eruption.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2014
Volcanoes may be next obstacle for Japan's atomic power industry
The deadly volcanic eruption of Mount Ontake over the weekend may strengthen the argument of activists campaigning to keep the country's 48 reactors shut.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2014
New METI chief Obuchi rules out new nuclear power plants
Newly appointed trade and industry minister Yuko Obuchi on Thursday ruled out the construction of new nuclear power plants anytime soon.
EDITORIALS
Jul 18, 2014
More needed than NRA safety nod
Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority has effectively given the green light for restarting an idled Kyushu Electric nuclear power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture under safety standards updated a year ago. After a period of public comment and local government approvals, two reactors of the plant, in the city of Satsumasendai, could restart by yearend.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jul 17, 2014
Responsibility for reactor restarts a hot potato
Regulators, politicians and bureaucrats bob and weave as the public asks one question: Who will take responsibility for the decision to authorize reactor restarts?
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2014
Disaster plans outstanding issue in Sendai plant restart, critics say
Anti-nuclear groups warn that the Sendai plant's reactors are far from ready to go online, despite Kyushu Electric Power Co. clearing a major hurdle toward their restart.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2014
Sendai nuclear plant to clear safety hurdle
The Sendai nuclear plant in Kagoshima Prefecture is to clear an initial safety hurdle Wednesday, a key step in what is likely to be the gradual restart of an industry idled by the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
BUSINESS
Jul 10, 2014
Approaching reactor restarts encourage utilities to sell bonds
The Nuclear Regulation Authority is moving toward the first reactor restart under its new safety requirements since the Fukushima disaster started, giving impetus to bond sales by utilities as borrowing costs plunge.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2014
Evacuation plans stir fresh doubts over Japan nuclear restarts
Keen to restart nuclear power plants three years after the Fukushima disaster, authorities may face an additional hurdle in securing approval — coming up with a cogent evacuation plan in the event of new accidents.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jun 4, 2014
Atop Pacific 'Ring of Fire,' debate flares over volcanic risk to Japan's nuclear plants
In the three years since the Fukushima disaster, Japan's utilities have pledged $15 billion to harden their nuclear plants against earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes and terrorist attacks.
WORLD
Jun 1, 2014
China, India may hinder U.S. steps on warming
U.S. President Barack Obama is set to take his boldest step to halt the rise of the oceans and stop the warming of the planet. But it won't be enough unless the rest of the world follows.
EDITORIALS
May 23, 2014
Reflect on Fukui nuclear ruling
The Fukui District Court's ruling that prohibits the restart of two nuclear power reactors run by Kansai Electric Power Co. challenges the Abe administration's energy policy of relying on nuclear power as a key source of the nation's electricity supply.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2014
In test of post-Fukushima policy, town rallies for restart of reactors
For residents of Satsumasendai, their old nuclear plant jobs take priority over a quake they never felt and an atomic disaster they never had to deal with.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 3, 2014
Power companies offsetting reactor closures by hiking electricity rates
Power utilities, including Tokyo Electric Power Co., leaned on customer rate hikes to boost their financial performances in the first nine months of the business year as idled nuclear plants kept fuel costs high.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Nov 17, 2013
Cracks in Tepco's 3/11 narrative
Tepco will never accept the theory that the earthquake, not the tsunami, caused the Fukushima nuclear disaster because it would make it difficult to restart its other nuclear power plants.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 2, 2013
Slow reactor restart process rattles energy markets as uranium piles up
Uranium prices are showing little sign of recovery after sinking to their lowest levels in more than seven years amid a glut of the radioactive metal and speculation Japan will delay restarting its reactors.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past