Japan

The government of Japan announced that the country will avoid power cuts this summer even without nuclear power.

Japanese small solar panel owners  sold 50 percent more power to utilities last year than in 2010. Owners sold a total 2,150 gigawatt hours to power utilities last year, helped by the government scheme. The data showed Japan's 10 regional power companies spent a total 96 billion yen or $1.2 billion for surplus solar power from house owners and small businesses last year via a feed-in tariff scheme, which requires them to buy such power, reports Reuters. Last year's purchase volume is equivalent to 0.24 percent of sales from the power companies of some 884,000 gigawatt hours a year on average in the three years to March 2011. In 2010, power companies bought 1,400 gigawatt hours of such surplus solar power via the same scheme. When a full-fledged scheme applying any electricity from solar, wind, small hydro, biomass and geothermal power plants is launched in July, the existing one will remain but cover surplus power from solar panel owners of up to 10 kilowatts only. Currently, regional power firms pay 48 yen per kilowatt hour for surplus electricity from solar panel owners of less than 10 kilowatts and 24 yen for surplus power from owners of 10 to 500 kilowatts, and allowed to add on the extra costs to all users in the same region evenly.

Tepco will agree to be taken over by the government in a near-$13 billion bailout.

Tests conducted by Japan to prove the safety of its nuclear reactors is now being reviewed by UN nuclear experts.

Tepco may sell or invite outside investments for its older fossil fuel-fired power plants.

Japan's wind power capacity rose 11.7 percent in the year to March 2011as the country was set to launch a new subsidy system to lure investors to the sector.

Japan's push to restart nuclear reactors  by proving their safety through stress tests sparked an angry response from the public.

Nuclear power in Japan faces its moment of truth.

So who are the new angel investors of big-ticket Renewable Energy projects?

Japan will allow nuclear reactors to operate for up to 60 years according to it revised regulations on power plant operators.

SunEdison will spend around $4.56 billion on building 1,000MW of solar power plants in Japan over the next five years.

Tepco is not considering selling any power plants to compensate victims of its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility.

Tepco bumped up its gas use plans to a fresh record high to make up for lost nuclear output after the destruction of its Fukushima Daiichi plant.

The Japanese government may take control of the nation's nuclear power plants away from private utilities, in a bid to improve accountability.

Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc's (9501.T) main lenders will begin talks this week to decide conditions to lend Japan's biggest utility, also known as Tepco, an additional 1 trillion yen ($13.01 billion), at the government's request, business daily The Nikkei said. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (8316.T) unit Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and other financial institutions have already infused funds in Tepco, including about 2 trillion yen in emergency financing last spring, the daily said. The government plans to inject 1 trillion yen in public funds to help Tepco pay for decommissioning reactors at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and have private sector financial institutions provide about 1 trillion yen in working capital financing, Nikkei said. Tepco and the government-backed Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund have indicated to financial institutions that they plan to restart the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in about two years, the daily said. If nuclear plants that have been idled since the March earthquake and tsunami cannot be brought back online, Tepco's earnings would take a hit because it would need to rely more on fossil fuel, Nikkei said.

Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc's (9501.T) main lenders will begin talks this week to decide conditions to lend Japan's biggest utility, also known as Tepco, an additional 1 trillion yen ($13.01 billion), at the government's request, business daily The Nikkei said. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (8316.T) unit Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and other financial institutions have already infused funds in Tepco, including about 2 trillion yen in emergency financing last spring, the daily said. The government plans to inject 1 trillion yen in public funds to help Tepco pay for decommissioning reactors at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and have private sector financial institutions provide about 1 trillion yen in working capital financing, Nikkei said. Tepco and the government-backed Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund have indicated to financial institutions that they plan to restart the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in about two years, the daily said. If nuclear plants that have been idled since the March earthquake and tsunami cannot be brought back online, Tepco's earnings would take a hit because it would need to rely more on fossil fuel, Nikkei said.