
Solar for All New Buildings in Japan

With Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s announcement to abandon the country’s plan to expand its nuclear sector with 14 new reactors in the wake of the Fukushima reactor meltdown, Japan is now seeking renewables to fill the gap. Kan says Japan must “start from scratch,” with a new energy policy geared toward clean, renewable energy as well as energy conservation. Part of the plant is a requirement to install solar panels on every new building constructed in Japan by 2030.
"Taking [Fukushima] as a lesson, we will lead the world in clean energy such as solar and biomass, as we take a step toward resurrection," says Kan.
The official announcement of the solar building initiative is expected to come at the upcoming G8 summit in Deauville, France. The summit will likely also serve as a platform for Prime Minister Kan’s announcement that Japan will continue to operate its remaining functioning nuclear reactors pending safety confirmation.
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Amazon's renewable energy projects surpass 200 milestone

Amazon claims it is now Europe's largest corporate buyer of renewable energy as its projects surpassed 200 globally.
Broken down, it has 136 solar rooftops on facilities and stores and 71 utility-scale wind and solar projects, nine of which were announced today covering the US, Canada, Spain, Sweden and UK. They include:
First solar project paired with energy storage Based in California’s Imperial Valley, Amazon’s first solar project paired with energy storage allows the company to align solar generation with the greatest demand. The project generates 100MW of solar energy, and includes 70MW storage.
It now has more than 2.5 GW of renewable energy capacity, enough to power more than two million European homes a year, and aims to power all its activities with renewables by 2025 and net zero by 2040.
Amazon and Global Optimism co-founded The Climate Pledge in 2019, a commit ment to reach the Paris Agreement 10 years early and be net-zero carbon by 2040. The pledge now has 53 signatories, including IBM, Unilever, Verizon, Siemens, Microsoft, and Best Buy.
A map of all of Amazon’s renewable energy projects around the world can be found here.
