The New Headwinds Facing Japan’s Biomass Industry

The biomass sector in Japan has had a whirlwind of a year. On the one hand, several large biomass projects came online, such as Osaka Gas’s Sodegaura plant and Renova's Omaezaki plant, adding 150 MW ...

Japan Mulls New Mid-Term Power Market to Push Retailers to Secure Supply

In Japan’s electricity market, many retailers shop for power as if buying dinner ingredients on the way home from work: they head to the store, basket in hand, hoping prices are kind. Most of the tim...

Mitsubishi’s Exit from Offshore Wind Has Government Scrambling to Improve Conditions

Immediately after Mitsubishi Corp announced a shock exit from Japan’s offshore wind sector METI Minister Muto vowed to re-auction the trading house’s three projects “as soon as possible,” while offic...

The Politics and System of Incentives to Smooth the Siting of Nuclear Power Plants

Perhaps the most fundamental issue faced by Japan's nuclear power industry when seeking to build a new facility is a very straightforward one – Where to site it in a nation that’s almost 70% mountain...

On Thin Ice: Energy Companies Remain Cautious over Trump’s Alaska LNG

Over the past six months, among the G7 countries, LNG has turned from an undesirable though grudgingly accepted fossil fuel to a crucial bargaining chip in trade negotiations with President Trump, wh...