I have written previously that farmers around the world are due to be a key component to the transition to a more sustainable future. Another example of this comes from Japan. According to Eco Business : ” Japanese farmers have found a way to reactivate a declining farming culture through the solar sharing programme, which …
We have seen it many times over, energy efficiency is a key component to the energy transition, alongside with renewable energy sources. Energy sobriety / conservation is another often overlooked tool. As I was reporting all the way back to 2011, after Fukushima, Japan had cut by 15 percent its power usage thanks to conservation measures between 9 a.m. and …
Japan replaced half of its nuclear reactors by efficiency Read More »
I had noted last year that cleantech investments had decreased from their peak of $317.9 billion in 2011 to reach $286.2 billion in 2012. 2013 was an even worse year as total investments reached only $254 billion. To Bloomberg New Energy Finance : ” The reduced volume of investment in 2013 reflected two influences, a continued sharp …
Solar saw another record year in 2013, with as much around 35 GW of capacity installed according to IHS. China and Japan leaded the world in 2013 with 8.6 and 6.3 GW respectively. This is especially staggering once you know that in 2008 and 2009 yearly installations were below ten gigawatts. Solar photovoltaic is in …
The future is solar : 49 GW to be installed in 2014 Read More »
Safe and clean nuclear energy seems everyday further away as the horror story of the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan unfolds. Each passing year seems to bring its flow of bad news. As the New York Times notes : ” Problems at the plant seemed to take a sharp turn for the worse in July …
While browsing my RSS feeds, I found on Inhabitat a great idea on how to park dozens of bikes without wasting space in streets. Only eight meters wide and eleven meters deep, a single Eco Cycle parking can store 204 bikes. The Japanese company Giken has installed many of these in Tokyo and around Japan. …
In the wake of the tragic catastrophe and the nuclear incident that shook Japan in 2011, we have seen that the local government is willing to push renewable energy sources forward. Among them, solar energy and wind power. This has led to the installation of 1,12 GW of solar PV capacity in only nine months …
According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, investements in clean technologies fell by 11 percent in 2012 compared to their 2011 levels. They still amounted to 268.7 billion USD or over 200 billion euros. These news aren’t all that bad even if this decrease marks the end of a seeminlgy unstoppable increase but i has to …
This is the question many are asking themselves as the Japanese government initially wanted to go nuclear free by 2040 but finally removed the specific deadline as the New York Times reported. Nuclear plants can last decades provided they are operated and maintained carefully. Nuclear accounts for 18 percent of the electricity mix of the …
Can Japan, and the world, ever be nuclear free ? Read More »
To Engadget : ” Sharp has announced an unusual photovoltaic panel for the Japanese market that collects energy from the sun while still allowing the light to shine on through.“ ” Though it’s rated at a lowly 6.8 percent efficiency, the glass-like properties make it useful as a construction material (as shown in the balcony …
