Tag - energy

 
 

ENERGY

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.
A bridge linking Izushima and the Oshika Peninsula in Miyagi Prefecture is scheduled to open in December.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 30, 2024
Onagawa nuclear plant's restart sparks concerns over evacuation routes
Residents, particularly those of islands close to the newly restarted plant, lament the limited options for escaping a disaster.
Tohoku Electric Power workers restart the Unit 2 reactor of the Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant in Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2024
A lack of workers threatens Japan's nuclear power revival
The slow revival of nuclear power has dramatically worsened a skills crunch visible across the nation’s nuclear industry.
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.
Ringhals nuclear power plant near Varberg, Sweden
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2024
Sweden’s nuclear revival in question as green hangover spreads
A policy U-turn that would entail a massive build-out of reactors, the first to come online in more than 40 years, now appears more unlikely.
The Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant's No. 2 reactor was set to restart Tuesday after more than 13 years of suspension.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2024
Japan restarts nuclear power plant closest to 2011 earthquake
Nuclear power used to account for around a quarter of Japan’s electricity mix prior to the disaster, but it was at just 6% as of March 2023.
Equipment for removing nuclear fuel debris is shown during a demonstration held in May. Work to remove debris from the No. 2 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 plant resumed Monday.
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2024
Tepco resumes attempt to remove nuclear fuel debris from Fukushima plant
Its last attempt had to be suspended due to the need to replace two cameras attached to a debris-removal device that malfunctioned.
A Tohoku Electric Power official explains the process of loading nuclear fuel into the No. 2 reactor of the Onagawa nuclear power plant in Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, on Sept. 6.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 27, 2024
Onagawa No. 2 nuclear reactor set for restart amid mixed local reception
Some living around the power plant have expressed understanding for the restart while others are concerned over the possibility of an accident.
A metal container holding spent nuclear fuel is loaded onto a trailer for transportation to an interim storage facility in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, on Sept. 26.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2024
Japan struggles to find nuclear waste disposal site
Nuclear plants in Japan without designated waste sites are often criticized for being like "a condominium building without a toilet."
Coral growing off Indonesia's Komodo island, located in the marine rich Coral Triangle
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Oct 27, 2024
Report details fossil fuel threat to 'Amazon of the seas'
The Coral Triangle covers waters claimed by Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, the Philippines, Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands.
Tanks containing water from the disabled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant at the facility in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, in March of last year.
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2024
Japan to resume trial removal of Fukushima nuclear debris, reports say
Extracting the estimated 880 tons of highly radioactive fuel and debris inside the former power station remains the most challenging part of decommissioning the facility.
The Three Mile Island Nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 23, 2024
Three Mile Island nuclear plant gears up for Big Tech reboot
Giant cooling towers at the plant have sat dormant for so long that grass has sprung up in the towers' hollowed-out bases and wildlife roam inside.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture. The government aims to restart the plant to ensure stable power supplies amid an expected increase in power demand for data centers and other facilities.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 23, 2024
Japan's parties divided over nuclear energy amid rising power demand
Political parties have made various pledges on nuclear power ahead of Sunday's general election, ranging from abolishing all nuclear plants to maximizing their use.
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.
Built by Russian energy giant Gazprom, the pipeline from Comprehensive Gas Treatment Unit No.3 runs about 3,000 kilometers from the Chayandinskoye and Kovyktinskoye gas fields in the coldest part of Siberia to Blagoveshchensk, near the Chinese border.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 22, 2024
China overtaking Europe as top market for Russia’s pipeline gas
Russia’s Gazprom exported 23.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas to China in January-September, compared with 22.5 billion cubic meters to European customers.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 22, 2024
China tension highlights risk of Taiwan’s nuclear phase-out plan
Public opinion had turned sharply in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan, prompting the government to halt construction on all projects.
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. campus in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on July 16. The incessant demand for electricity that the artificial boom is placing on chipmakers such as TSMC has made opposition to nuclear power harder to maintain.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 21, 2024
Taiwan signals openness to new nuclear tech amid surging AI power demand
Premier Cho Jung-tai's comments underscore what appears to be a shift by a government that has opposed using nuclear power for safety reasons.
A woman boils water while another lights up the area with a mobile phone during a nationwide blackout in Matanzas, Cuba, on Friday.
WORLD
Oct 19, 2024
Cuba's electrical grid collapses again; entire country without power
Cuba's electrical grid first collapsed around midday on Friday after one of the island's largest power plants failed.
A Tokyo Electric Power Co. employee opens a watertight door inside the Unit 7 reactor building at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, on Aug. 6.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Oct 19, 2024
Japan shifting back to nuclear to ditch coal and power AI
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, the world's biggest nuclear plant, could help Japan cut carbon emissions while also powering artificial intelligence.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone. 
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan