Japan’s Solar Frontier has made a big push into the U.S. market, landing a deal to supply 150 megawatts of advanced thin-film photovoltaic panels for installation in a California solar power plant to be built by enXco.
The agreement announced Monday is one of the largest deals for so-called CIGS (copper indium gallium selenide) panels that various Silicon Valley startups have been seeking to commercialize for the past decade.
While CIGS panels are less efficient at converting sunlight into electricity than conventional silicon-based photovoltaic modules, their great promise, so far unrealized, is …

Scientists in Japan have begun studying the “language” of oysters in an effort to find out what they are saying about their environment.
Researchers are monitoring the opening and closing of the molluscs in response to changes in seawater, such as reduced oxygen or red tide, a suffocating algal bloom, that can lead to mass die-offs.
Using a device they have nicknamed the “kai-lingual”, a play on the Japanese word “kai” or shellfish, scientists from Kagawa University want to see if they can decode oyster movements that might warn of possible problems.
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Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda welcomed Sunday the outcome of just-ended U.N. climate talks, citing its adoption of a road map for launching a new framework in 2020 to tackle greenhouse gas emissions.

The 17th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change "could reap significant results such as a road map toward building a new legal framework in which all countries participate," Noda said in a released comment.
The newly endorsed measure is supported by major emitters China and the United States.
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China and Japan agreed on Saturday to join hands on 51 projects in energy conservation and environment protection, Xinhua reported.
The projects include energy-saving standards, enhancement of thermal power efficiency, standardization of semiconductor lighting, sea water desalination and other related subjects.
Read the rest of the story: China, Japan ink energy conservation agreements.

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. has set in motion its full-scale testing of smart grid and related commercial systems at its production sites in Japan. The company said it is supporting low-carbon societies by deploying economical and highly-reliable power grids that will allow customers to manage their electricity consumption.The project focuses on the development of robust energy infrastructure that offers continuity in emergency situations, in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Read the rest of the story: Smart grid testing in Japan underway.

Japan’s Tokai University won the 3000km World Solar Challenge car race through Australia’s desert today in a tight contest marred by wildfires and an explosion.
Team Tokai crossed the finish line in Adelaide this afternoon to claim back-to-back victories in the event, last held in 2009.
The Japanese team narrowly beat the Netherlands’ Nuon Solar in the race from Darwin, which started on Sunday.
Read the rest of the story: Japanese university crew wins 3000km Australian solar car race.

Two years ago, Japan’s second-largest city launched a small-scale environmental experiment, encouraging residents to install solar panels on their roofs and buy pricey equipment to track how much energy they use.Yokohama officials’ goal was simple: to save power and cut the city’s carbon emissions.
But since the nuclear disaster that transformed the way Japan thinks about both energy and the companies that supply it, Yokohama’s “smart city project” has taken on potentially larger significance. What began as a modest environmental plan now stands as a controversial blueprint for a system in …

After a long, hot and dark summer in Japan, the days are cooler and the nights are brighter. For this the Japanese can give thanks not just to September, but also to setsuden, or “energy saving,” an ambitious and strikingly successful campaign to conserve electricity after the March earthquake, tsunami and nuclear-plant disasters.
The destruction of the Fukushima Daiichi plant led Japan to shut down all but 15 of its 54 nuclear reactors. This was a huge blow to a country that depends heavily on nuclear power and has made scant …

Plans to rebuild many areas devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake as environmentally friendly "smart cities" are being explored by corporations and municipal governments.
By promoting large-scale projects that include power-generation facilities utilising renewable energy and smart grids, the plans are also meant to create jobs. Some companies and local governments have already started working together on these projects.
Major electronics manufacturer Toshiba Corp has proposed an integrated system, with facilities ranging from power generation and water-treatment systems to "smart metre" next-generation power meters, to some local governments.
An official of the …

Japans richest entrepreneur outlined a plan on Monday to rebuild the countrys energy infrastructure in the wake of its nuclear disaster, shifting the majority of supply to natural, renewable resources by 2030.
Masayoshi Son, founder and CEO of SoftBank, was speaking at the launch of his Japan Renewable Energy Foundation. He said Japan could shift to renewable energy sources for 60% of its electricity requirements over the next two decades, calling for a 2 trillion yen £16.34 billion "super grid" across the country, and underwater off the coast, that would zip …