Tag - energy

 
 

ENERGY

Attendees walk through the main entrance during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada on Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 13, 2025
Tech sector's energy transition draws attention at Vegas show
Data centers accounted for 4.4% of U.S. electricity needs in 2023, a figure that is likely to rise to 12% by 2028, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Solar panels and a coal-fired power station in Fukushima Prefecture. Japan has not set a clear path for phasing out coal and its new draft energy plan foresees an important role for fossil fuels, especially gas, and nuclear power in its future energy mix.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 13, 2025
Japan’s energy plans endanger real climate solutions
The government's draft energy plans were not subject to open debate and their outcome shows an insufficient commitment to making the changes needed to tackle climate change.
A Muji store at Kansai International Airport in Osaka
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 11, 2025
Owner of Muji stores looks to build clean power plants
Ryohin Keikaku will look to build clean power plants in an effort to meet its emissions targets.
Japan aims for nuclear power to make up 20% of its energy mix by 2040. However, the restart of the country's reactors is complicated by issues such as local opposition, as is the case for the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 10, 2025
Robust new nuclear target for Japan is shrouded in uncertainty
A new plan envisions nuclear power making up 20% of Japan's energy mix by 2040. But hurdles to reactor restarts and rising electricity demand cast a shadow on such ambitions.
Consumer spending in Japan has been on a downtrend for months.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 10, 2025
Japan’s household spending falls, weighing on BOJ rate hike path
Outlays adjusted for inflation fell 0.4% in November from a year earlier, led by household durable goods and clothing.
U.S. President Jimmy Carter and then-California Gov. Ronald Reagan greet each other before their U.S. presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio, in October 1980.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 9, 2025
What if Reagan's vision had been more like Carter's?
Yes, Carter had his share of missteps, but he was way, way, way ahead of his time on clean energy.
A retired power station in the Keratsini suburb, near Athens
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 7, 2025
Europe's power price divide hits southeastern economies
Since 2021, Greece has spent €11 billion on energy subsidies to try to protect customers.
A Panasonic Energy factory in the city of Kinokawa, Wakayama prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025
Panasonic Energy says cutting China supply for U.S. business a 'No.1 objective'
Incoming U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge to raise tariffs on imported Chinese goods has forced companies around the world to reassess their manufacturing processes.
Jera has reportedly created a think tank to research domestic and international energy trends.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 6, 2025
Japan’s top LNG buyer creates think tank to watch market trends
Jera Global Institute will aim to follow the example of Shell’s scenarios team, which produces long-term forecasts.
Solar panels, which typically last 20 to 30 years, will begin to reach the end of their service life in the next decade.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2025
Disposal of used solar panels emerging as challenge in Japan
The annual amount of solar panels discarded as waste is seen peaking at some 500,000 tons in the early 2040s, putting a major strain on industrial waste treatment facilities.
As the march of AI accelerates, a new requirement has become apparent: The next breakthroughs will consume colossal quantities of energy.
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Jan 3, 2025
We need energy for AI, and AI for energy
AI guzzles electricity — a single ChatGPT query requires 10 times as much as a conventional web search.
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.

Longform

The sun shines from behind a waving Philippine flag at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.
Eighty years after the Battle of Manila, old foes forge new ties