Tag - energy

 
 

ENERGY

A woman uses an umbrella to protect herself from the sun during a heat wave in Valencia, Spain, on Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 8, 2026
Europe’s third major heat wave raises grid and water risks
The latest spell of hot weather is being driven by a high-pressure heat dome, similar to the one that shattered records across much of the continent last month.
Workers package and cube pallet bricks for shipping at Belden Brick in Sugarcreek, Ohio, in November 2025.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 8, 2026
U.S. Rust Belt factories get shock as Big Tech data centers drive up power bills
Factory electricity bills, a core expense, are rising faster than for many homes and other businesses, a review of U.S. energy data shows.
A young woman looks at a mobile phone in Havana during a nationwide blackout on Monday.
WORLD
Jul 7, 2026
‘Agony’ in Cuba amid third nationwide blackout in six months
Cuba was already struggling to keep the lights on before U.S. President Donald Trump cut off its oil supplies, depleting the dwindling supply of fuel for its power plants.
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on Wednesday
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Jul 6, 2026
World absorbs historic Iran war oil supply loss, but depleted stocks bring risks
Replenishing oil stocks, never cheap, has likely been made more expensive by the war.
Storage tanks and trucks loaded with gas cylinders in Mumbai.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 4, 2026
Energy-hungry Asia is already drawing lessons from Iran crisis
The region is realizing that it needs bigger buffers, a greater diversity of fossil-fuel suppliers, and a better mix of power sources overall.
A satellite image shows an oil terminal at Kharg Island, Iran, in February.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 4, 2026
Iran exploring oil sales to Japan, with buyers seeking longer sanctions waiver
Three Japanese buyers were looking at possible crude oil purchases from Iran, ​their first since 2019, said two Iranian sources.
Wind turbines generate energy from strong easterly winds on the Shonai Plain in Yamagata Prefecture. Despite the oil crisis caused by conflict near the Strait of Hormuz, and concerns instability in the region could continue to impact supply and the price of imports, the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi does not seem to be drawing on the war as a pretext to hasten progress toward Japan's renewable goals.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jul 3, 2026
Iran war exposed, but hasn’t changed, Japan’s reliance on imported oil
Japan received over 93% of its oil imports through the Strait of Hormuz last year before it was effectively closed.
Shinsuke Yamanaka, chair of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday about misconduct at Chubu Electric Power.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2026
Chubu Electric suspected of nuclear plant data fraud cover-up
The Nuclear Regulation Authority said it plans to decide its response to the scandal as early as this summer, after confirming the details.
Evenings are proving to be a particular crunch point in Britain as solar comes offline, meaning the National Energy System Operator needs to pay generators to step in to meet demand.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jun 29, 2026
U.K. grid issues another supply warning as heat tests network
The alert underscores the new extremes the grid must adapt to: in this case, a surge in cooling demand coinciding with low wind generation and reduced nuclear output.
Canadian International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu speaks in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2026
Canada sends trade mission to Japan in diversification effort
Canada is looking to increase trade with Japan by leveraging its abundant natural resources, as well as its strengths in artificial intelligence and agricultural products.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, pose for a group photo ahead of an expanded session of the Group of Seven summit in France on June 16.
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2026
Japan and India to set up task force on LNG stockpiling
Japan and India hope to strengthen cooperation in the field of energy security to prepare for future risks of supply disruptions.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a meeting on the Middle East conflict in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2026
Japan to draw up energy-related package by end of August
Industry minister Ryosei Akazawa has been tasked with drawing up an action plan to address the energy risks that became apparent amid the Middle East conflict.
A worker refuels a truck at a biogas station next to the Higasinada sewage treatment plant in Kobe in October 2020.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 27, 2026
Japan and India to set up framework for promoting biogas-run cars
The two sides will aim to increase the number of plants in India that manufacture methane from fermented cow dung for compressed natural gas vehicles to 1,000.
The Stroud crude oil rail terminal in Stroud, Oklahoma. The price of benchmark Brent oil has fallen below its prewar closing price.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 25, 2026
Brent oil erases wartime gains as Hormuz reopening boosts supply
The global benchmark pushed lower for a fourth session, dropping below $72.48 a barrel — its pre-war closing price — before fluctuating around that level.
Japanese liquefied natural gas-related stocks stand to benefit from the Middle East supply risk.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 25, 2026
Japan’s LNG stocks seen to benefit from Middle East supply risk
The country’s firms are an indispensable part of every stage in the LNG supply chain, which includes plant contractors and turbine suppliers.
Signs inform of nonworking fuel pump nozzles at a gas station, as, some regional filling stations face gasoline shortages due to production cuts at major refineries, amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jun 24, 2026
Russia’s gasoline crunch spreads after refinery attacks
On an almost daily basis, regional governors in Russia are being forced to limit sales of fuel at filling stations and to try to deter panic buying.
Iran is eager to find a wider range of buyers for its oil.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 23, 2026
Iran rushes to woo Asia’s largest oil importers after U.S. waiver
The temporary lifeline should allow Tehran to resume exports and begin clearing a backlog of cargoes on the water.
An explosion at Qatar's Ras Laffan industrial zone, home to the world's largest liquefied natural gas hub, on Sunday
WORLD
Jun 23, 2026
Thirteen dead, dozens injured after blast in Qatar’s Ras Laffan complex
The incident is one of the deadliest ​gas industry accidents in over twenty years.
Erin and Munekazu Tanikawa look out from their balcony at the construction site of a planned 52-meter-tall data center that would dominate their surroundings, in the city of Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, last month.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Jun 21, 2026
Japan’s AI goldrush faces backlash as data centers sprout up in urban areas
Residents living next to new developments are raising concerns over environmental and health issues linked to the “factories” of today.
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz are seen near a beach in Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 18, 2026
Wave of Persian Gulf oil set to leave Asian refiners swamped
The situation is a stark reversal from the early stages of the Iran war, when prices were spiking and the oil market was warning of dramatic shortages.

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival