Japan’s Power Grid to Open Up to Competition With New License System

From next April, Japan will introduce a licensing system for companies that wish to run power lines. A revision to the Electricity Business Act will allow new operators to distribute electricity in a...

Japan Keeps Expanding Coal Capacity Despite Net-Zero Vow

A year ago, Japan’s government vowed to close three-quarters of the country’s coal-fired power plants by 2030. Today’s situation, however, looks drastically different. New coal capacity is being adde...

Solar’s Wild West Era Ends; Industry Stands on the Verge of its 2.0 Revamp

The era of cowboys in Japan solar is over. The rich Feed-in Tariff (FIT) that opened the country to a solar PV boom from 2012 attracted a hotchpotch crowd. Some simply monetized their earlier land-gr...

Debating Japan’s Draft Basic Energy Plan

On July 21 Japanese policymakers unveiled a draft version of the country’s Sixth Basic Energy Plan. Much like previous iterations of the triennial planning initiative, the goals are both comprehensiv...

Cow Dung vs LNG? Biogas Emerging as Niche Rival in Rural Japan

Japan has scant oil and gas resources, but it has plenty of cow dung. And, apparently, that could emerge as raw material for a niche, clean energy source that could displace LNG in some rural areas.A...