Danish power company Ørsted and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, better known as TEPCO, have announced a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the possibility of and to work jointly on developing offshore wind projects in Japan and around the globe. While Ørsted’s decision to further expand its developmental reach to Japan is unsurprising – especially considering its already solid foundation in neighbouring Taiwan – the decision by TEPCO is of more interest. That’s because it comes after a similar MoU signed between Japanese rival Electric Power Development Co., better known as J-Power, and French multinational electric utility ENGIE in September of 2018. The deal also follows plans outlined by TEPCO’s president Tomoaki Kobayakawa in July 2018 to begin developing offshore wind.
Renew Economy 24th Jan 2019 read more »
Japan’s nuclear export business shaken to the core. The shadow of the 2011 Fukushima meltdown hangs ominously over a series of setbacks. Just two years after the Fukushima nuclear accident, Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, was gamely trying to make a virtue out of a catastrophic liability. Japan had a “duty” to share the lessons of the 2011 triple meltdown to the world, he said in Turkey, announcing a two trillion-yen public-private deal to construct a nuclear-power plant near the Black Sea. Far from being mortally wounded by the Fukushima disaster, Mr Abe was betting that Japan’s battle-hardened nuclear industry could capitalise on it. That bet looks increasingly shaky. With costs for the Turkey project running at more than twice their initial estimate, Itochu, a Japanese trading house and major investor, got cold feet. Last December, the Japanese government pulled the plug. This week, Hitachi suspended its involvement in the Wylfa nuclear power project in Wales, throwing Britain’s energy plans into chaos. It’s just the latest setback for Japan’s nuclear export industry. In 2016, Vietnam’s government cancelled a plan by a consortium of Japanese firms that included Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO, the operator of the ruined Fukushima Daiichi plant) to build a four-reactor plant in central Ninh Thuan Province, citing worries about safety and costs.
Irish Times 24th Jan 2019 read more »
