Tag - nuclear-energy

 
 

NUCLEAR ENERGY

Cables connect to servers at a data center. The rapid global adoption of AI has triggered a boom in demand for the energy-hungry data centers on which the technology depends, putting power grids to the test.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2024
Fossil fuels initially needed for AI boom, Tepco adviser says
While electricity demand has been trending downward in Japan, experts have suggested that the decline could be reversed as the nation builds more data centers.
The Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2024
IAEA team arrives in Japan for third review of N-plant water release
The mission will conduct safety inspections and meet government and Tepco officials.
Kansai Electric Power's Takahama nuclear power plant's No.1 reactor (right) in Fukui Prefecture, which surpassed 50 years of operation in November. On the left is the No. 2 reactor.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2024
Renewables eyed as biggest source of Japan's energy mix in fiscal 2040
The government is also expected to aim for a 20% share for nuclear energy as part of efforts toward decarbonization.
Chugoku Electric Power Company's Shimane nuclear power plant
JAPAN
Dec 7, 2024
Chugoku Electric restarts Shimane reactor for first time in 13 years
The long-delayed restart of the reactor, which was shut down in January 2012, boosts the number of Japan's operational reactors to 14.
The town of Futaba is still dealing with the effects of 3/11, but that isn't stopping some residents from looking forward.
LIFE / Travel
Dec 7, 2024
Futaba pivots to 'hope tourism' to revive its fortunes
Whether you’re a long-term resident of Japan or flying in for a holiday, the message is clear: Futaba welcomes you.
Facebook parent company Meta is asking developers to submit proposals to deliver 1 to 4 gigawatts of nuclear energy, starting in the early 2030s.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 4, 2024
Meta seeks new nuclear reactors to run U.S. data centers
The Facebook parent is asking developers to submit proposals to deliver 1 to 4 gigawatts of reactor capacity, starting in the early 2030s.
Residents of Suttsu in Hokkaido attend a briefing session Saturday explaining a recent survey by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan in relation to building a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 1, 2024
Locals uneasy after Hokkaido nuclear waste survey results
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan (NUMO) briefed Suttsu residents on research regarding volcanoes and active tectonic faults near the town.
Iran has well over 10,000 existing centrifuges operating at two underground plants at Natanz and Fordow and an above-ground pilot plant at Natanz.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 29, 2024
Iran plans new uranium-enrichment expansion, IAEA report says
The confidential report details Iran's response to a resolution against it that the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors passed last week.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2024
Tepco eyes second test removal of Fukushima nuclear fuel debris
As in the previous test, the operator plans to use a fishing rod-shaped device to remove the debris.
Nobuo Hara, the head of a group seeking to halt the No. 2 reactor at Tohoku Electric Power's Onagawa nuclear power plant, speaks at a news conference on Wednesday in Sendai after the Sendai High Court ruled against them.
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2024
Court rejects request to halt restarted Onagawa nuclear reactor
A judge said there was "no concrete proof" that an incident that could not be handled under an established evacuation plan would occur.
DPP leader Yuichiro Tamaki in Tokyo on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 27, 2024
DPP’s Tamaki leverages new position with energy proposal
Yuichiro Tamaki has been a long-time advocate of nuclear power and the reactivation of Japan’s halted nuclear power plants.
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.
Akira Yamaguchi (right), president of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan, hands the results of a survey, the first step to select a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants, to Haruo Kataoka, mayor of Suttsu in Hokkaido, on Friday in the town.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2024
Nuclear waste body backs further Hokkaido disposal site surveys
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan has concluded it can move on to a preliminary survey that involves drilling work in Suttsu and Kamoenai.
A tiny sample of radioactive debris retrieved by a robot from Japan's Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant will take at least half a year to analyze, its operator says.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2024
Analysis of Fukushima debris sample could take a year, operator says
The analysis could shed light on radioactivity levels and the chemical structure of the fuel debris.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (right) welcomes International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi during a meeting in Tehran last Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 20, 2024
Iran offers to cap sensitive uranium stock as IAEA resolution looms
Western diplomats dismissed Iran's overture as yet another last-minute attempt to avoid censure, much like its pledge of deeper cooperation that never materialized.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in Niigata Prefecture, the world's biggest nuclear plant, on Aug. 5. Like many others in Japan, the plant is seeking clearance to restart, as the country grapples with how to shape its nuclear future.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 19, 2024
Japan’s nuclear future: Caught between climate goals and reality
Japan is well short of hitting its nuclear power goals by 2030, with the challenging nature of reactor restarts likely impacting its emissions reduction targets.
Kashiwazaki Mayor Masahiro Sakurai has expressed his willingness to conditionally green-light the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture.
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2024
Mayor accepting Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant restart is reelected
Following safety inspections at the plant's No. 7 reactor, Tepco has finished its preparations to restart the facility.
Hokkaido Electric Power's Tomari nuclear plant. The company says it will be able to meet a boom in consumption from planned data centers and a chipmaking plant provided it is allowed to restart its nuclear reactor.
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2024
Hokkaido Electric sees power demand surge with data center boom
Hokkaido boasts a cold climate, which reduces cooling costs, and potential for renewable energy, particularly offshore wind.
Rail trucks loaded with rocks containing uranium ore wait for transportation. Russia controls almost half the world’s capacity to separate the uranium isotopes needed for nuclear reactors
WORLD / Politics
Nov 17, 2024
Russia takes aim at U.S. nuclear power by throttling uranium
Moscow controls almost half the world’s capacity to separate the uranium isotopes needed in reactors.
Cooling towers at the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Middletown, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 15. One reactor will be brought back online in 2028.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Nov 16, 2024
Nuclear power was once shunned at climate talks. Now, it’s a rising star.
Over the past few years, interest in nuclear power has steadily grown in tandem with concern about global warming.

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