Tag - energy

 
 

ENERGY

Work to extract nuclear fuel debris from the No. 2 reactor of the meltdown-stricken Fukushima No. 1 plant has been halted.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 22, 2024
Tepco halts Fukushima nuclear fuel debris removal work
The suspension follows the discovery of an error in procedures to install equipment to extract the debris during preparatory work.
Solar cell panels over the water surface of Sirindhorn Dam in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand. Four countries in Southeast Asia including Thailand account for more than 40% of solar module production capacity outside of China.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 21, 2024
Southeast Asia’s solar boom threatened by U.S.-China trade tension
Chinese firms that set up shop in the region over the last decade are being accused of skirting U.S. import levies on their home market.
It is estimated that the cleanup at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant will cost around ¥23 trillion ($157 billion).
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2024
Tepco to demonstrate removal of radioactive debris from Fukushima No. 1
About 880 metric tons of fuel debris remain in the three reactors that suffered a meltdown.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida poses for a group photo with other regional leaders prior to the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) leaders meeting in Tokyo in December.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 16, 2024
Japan's energy diplomacy reflects global divide over how to reach net zero
Japan’s focus should be on advancing truly innovative and effective renewable technologies, rather than prolonging fossil fuel use.
A Plug Power hydrogen plant in Woodbine, Georgia
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Aug 14, 2024
Why almost nobody is buying green hydrogen
Many of the projects now touted with great fanfare by countries vying to become 'the Saudi Arabia of hydrogen' will likely never get built.
A fisher on his way to inspect fish pens in Laguna Lake in the Philippines. About 13,000 people depend on the lake for their livelihoods, according to the Laguna Lake Development Authority.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Aug 12, 2024
Philippines fishers worry solar farm on lake will hurt incomes
A group of fishers is opposed to the government's plan to place solar panels atop Laguna de Bay, one of the country's biggest sources of freshwater fish.
Power lines on the highway between Shanghai and Suzhou, China, on Oct. 23, 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 12, 2024
China rapidly expands battery fleet but needs to start using it
China’s new energy storage capacity jumped to 44 gigawatts at the end of June, a 40% increase from the start of the year.
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Aug 11, 2024
Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom
For over half a century, Japan has been a sizable buyer of LNG, and its government, banks and energy companies have played a key role in continued investment.
A petrochemical plant in China. Asia's producers face the toughest outlook, with oversupply likely to persist.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Aug 9, 2024
Petrochemical makers enter survival mode amid global glut
Major petrochemical producers in Asia and Europe are selling assets, shutting older plants, and retrofitting facilities.
A solar farm in Dunhuang, northwest of Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China. Last year, China broke records in adding new wind turbines and solar panels. This year, it’s set on making sure people use them.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Aug 9, 2024
China’s policy blitz shows fresh resolve to support clean energy
China's latest moves signal a change in priorities taking place in Beijing to move to cleaner energy.
The shadows of workers from EKI Energy Services at a ReGen Powertech wind farm in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, India, in 2022
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Aug 8, 2024
Climate crisis hinges on green power for those in need, study shows
Some of the poorest nations also have the world’s best solar energy potential, the report stated.
A charging cable is connected to a Hyundai electric vehicle at the 2022 Busan International Motor Show in Busan, South Korea, on July 14, 2022.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 8, 2024
Seoul EV explosion sparks safety fears, prompting charging rethink
Over 700 people were evacuated and 23 hospitalized after an unplugged electric Mercedes-Benz sedan caught fire in a Seoul underground parking lot.
Japan's gasoline imports in June rose 20.4% from the previous month, with the Petroleum Association of Japan attributing it to maintenances and outages at plants owned by top oil refiners.
BUSINESS
Aug 6, 2024
Japan's gasoline imports seen rising through August as refinery outages cut output
Japan's gasoline imports are expected to stay elevated through August after rising 20% in June.
Inside TSMC’s plant in Taiwan. Chip plants, with rows of advanced equipment, require massive amounts of electricity.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Aug 5, 2024
TSMC’s Kumamoto plant pledges to use 100% renewables despite high costs
The move is not just an exercise of corporate responsibility but also a response to demands from the chipmaker's large customers.
Taro Kono, digital transformation minister, speaks to reporters in Naka, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 1, 2024
Taro Kono softens line against nuclear power ahead of LDP leadership race
The minister has said he now believes that the country should look to restart idled nuclear power plants ahead of a predicted rise in electricity demand.
Jera reported ¥93.4 billion in profit for the April-June quarter, down 48% from the year-before period.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 1, 2024
JERA's April-June profit halves; Taketoyo plant remains shut
The 1,070-megawatt (MW) Taketoyo power station in Aichi Prefecture has been shut since it was hit by a fire on Jan. 31.
As metal prices rise, so do cases of theft, with more and an increasing number of metal cables being stolen from solar power plants in Japan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 1, 2024
Japan's solar plants see over 9,000 cases of cable theft since 2023
The survey were the first to be conducted by the National Police Agency on the situation, at a time when metal prices are rising.
Members of the Nuclear Regulation Authority discusses regulatory screening of the Tsuruga nuclear power plant's No. 2 reactor, in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2024
Japanese nuclear regulators to hear from operator over reactor
The standards do not allow important nuclear facilities such as reactor buildings to be built on active faults.
Aomori Gov. Soichiro Miyashita holds a news conference Monday over the prefecture's plan on a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2024
Safety deal to be signed for Aomori nuclear fuel storage
A safety agreement is necessary for a spent nuclear fuel interim storage facility to start operations.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority holds a meeting in Tokyo on Friday to discuss whether the No. 2 unit at the Tsuruga nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture meets safety standards.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2024
Tsuruga nuclear reactor fails to gain approval for restart
The No. 2 unit at the Tsuruga plant in Fukui Prefecture failed to meet stricter regulations imposed following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster.

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