[Japan] Prime Minister Takaichi's policy speech and energy security vision

As of October 24, 2025, newly elected Prime Minister Takaichi delivered a policy speech at the 219th session of the Diet, covering national security, economics, food security, healthcare, energy security, and other areas. [1] Prime Minister Takaichi emphasized the need for a stable and affordable energy supply to maintain Japan’s competitiveness. She highlighted that nuclear power and perovskite solar cells are especially important. Furthermore, she stated the intention to maximize the use of carbon-free energy sources while “promoting energy conservation and fuel conversion through photonics-electronics convergence technology and other means.” Additionally, she mentioned that Japan will aim to achieve early implementation of next-generation innovative reactors and fusion energy. 

[1] https://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/104/statement/2025/1024shoshinhyomei.html

[USA] FERC grid reliability conference considers data center issue

On October 21, 2025, the grid reliability conference held by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) considered the issue of how to safely add data centers to the grid. [1] At the meeting, the North American Electric Reliability Corp (NERC) president and CEO Jim Robb stated that although grid reliability in the US is strong, challenges are growing. He mentioned the increasing number of small scale events and near misses that reinforce the idea of a “five-alarm fire” when it comes to reliability. Robb suggested that grid reliability challenges entail dwindling resource adequacy, weakening reliability services, extreme weather, interdependency with natural gas, policies affecting resource and fuel development, and more. FERC Commissioner Judy Chang warned that the US faces potential imbalances between electricity supply and demand amid uncertainty about how much load may come online and how much generation and transmission will be required to manage it. The need for planning and accurate load forecasting to resolve these issues was a prominent topic throughout the conference.

[1] https://www.ferc.gov/news-events/events/commissioner-led-reliability-technical-conference-05142025

[USA] DOE releases nuclear fusion road map

As of October 16, 2025, the Department of Energy (DOE) released a nuclear fusion road map that reviews barriers to deployment and provides strategies to address them. [1] The road map suggests that the goal is to achieve private-sector fusion scaleup in the 2030s. The DOE stated that the road map will start the transition to a future Office of Fusion Energy and Innovation once its goals are met, after which the office will carve a path to fusion commercialization. The barriers to deploying fusion originate from Structural Materials, Plasma-Facing Components, Advancing Confinement Approaches, Fuel Cycle and Tritium Processing, Blankets and Fusion Plant Engineering, and System Integration. DOE envisions that in the next two to three years, the public sector will build small-to-medium test stands, start design of large-scale facilities, and pursue research and development regarding neutron sources. The road map plans for the private sector to start nuclear operation of early generation power plants five to 10 years from now.

[1] https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2025-10/fusion-s%26t-roadmap-101625.pdf

[USA] 12 Amazon SMRs to be deployed at Washington nuclear facility

As of October 16, 2025, Amazon announced that the planned Cascade Advanced Energy Facility in Washington will deploy 12 small modular reactors (SMRs). [1] The facility will be built by Energy Northwest with funding from Amazon. Three 320-MW sections will together comprise a 960-MW plant, in contrast with traditional nuclear power facilities with a 1-GW plant. The SMRs will be supplied by X-energy, which received $500 million in Series C funding from Amazon last year, using the company’s advanced nuclear reactor design. The facility will be built outside Richland, Washington, near Energy Northwest’s Columbia Generating Station. Construction is expected to commence at the end of the decade, with operations targeted to start in the 2030s. The SMRs will be the Xe-100 design, a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor developed by X-energy, each module of which can provide 80-MW of full-time electricity.

[1] https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/sustainability/amazon-smr-nuclear-energy

[USA] FERC ordered MISO to specify merchant projects inclusion in transmission planning

As of October 16, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ordered the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) to specify when and how merchant high-voltage (HVDC) direct-current transmission projects will be integrated into its transmission models. [1] The decision, ruled 3-0, was in response to a complaint by Invenergy Transmission in 2022. The issue centered on MISO’s management of Invenergy’s planned Grain Belt Express project. The 5-GW, 600-kV project, which is set to run approximately 800 miles between Kansas and Indiana, is moving forward despite the US Department of Energy’s cancellation of a $4.9 billion conditional loan commitment. Invenergy complained that MISO failed to account for the project in its transmission planning process, creating duplicative projects. FERC gave MISO 90 days to specify when and how merchant transmission projects will be incorporated into its transmission planning processes. FERC rejected parts of Invenergy’s complaint, including the company’s request that the Grain Belt line be included in MISO’s long-range transmission plan’s base cases, Tranche 1 or Tranche 2.1.

[1] https://www.ferc.gov/media/e-3-el22-83-000

[Japan] Takaichi Sanae, newly elected leader of Japan’s ruling party, makes nuclear center-stage

As of October 4, 2025, Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) elected Takaichi Sanae as its new leader. [1] She has pushed to accelerate the development of advanced nuclear technologies and has previously called for making the country 100 percent energy self-sufficient by deploying next-generation reactors, such as small modular reactors (SMRs). She asserts that since fusion requires no uranium or plutonium and produces no high-level radioactive waste, while providing highly efficient power generation, it is worth focusing on. She is likely to prioritize nuclear energy to curb Japan’s carbon emissions. She has previously expressed concerns about solar power, opposing the installation of foreign-made solar panels on the land. Japan currently imports most of its solar modules from overseas. She has also expressed support for perovskite panels, next-generation solar films that are said to be more energy efficient and flexible.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-SoqRh6sWM

[USA] Senate confirms FERC nominees, creating Republican majority

As of October 7, 2025, the Senate confirmed Republicans Laura Swett and David LaCerte to fill vacant seats at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), providing the agency with a 3-2 Republican majority. [1] Swett is an energy attorney and former FERC staffer. LaCerte is an official in the US Office of Personnel Management. [2] He was previously the acting managing director at the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. The nominees are joining the agency during the federal government shutdown. FERC will have three Republicans once Swett and LaCerte are sworn in, including Commissioner Lindsay See. Currently, FERC is considering potential rules for colocating data centers at power plants in the PJM Interconnection footprint.

[1] https://www.congress.gov/nomination/119th-congress/416/7?s=1&r=1

[2] https://www.congress.gov/nomination/119th-congress/246/15?s=1&r=3

[USA] Dominion Energy seeking proposals for solar, wind, and storage projects

On October 8, 2025, Dominion Energy’s Virginia and North Carolina subsidiaries issued a request for proposals, seeking power purchase agreements for new solar, onshore wind, and energy storage projects in both states. [1] The company is interested in proposals for five categories, including: new photovoltaic (PV) solar, new PV solar generation co-located with energy storage, new onshore wind, new onshore wind co-located with energy storage, and new stand-alone energy storage. Dominion is also looking to acquire projects in the same categories. For PPAs, the company is seeking utility-scale solar projects of 3 MW or more and distributed solar projects of 3 MW or less. Only facilities located in Virginia will be considered.

[1] https://www.dominionenergy.com/about/delivering-energy/renewable-projects/solar-onshore-wind-and-energy-storage-proposals

[Japan] Shizen Energy reaches 100 MW in long-term PPA with Microsoft

As of October 3, 2025, Shizen Energy has reached 100 MW of executed Renewable Energy Purchase Agreements with Microsoft Corporation for four solar power projects in Japan. [1] After the initial Purchase Agreement for the Inuyama Solar Power Plant, three additional 20-year agreements have been signed. The new solar power plants are located in Kyushu and Chugoku regions, with the Kyushu plant having started operations. The other projects are under construction and will be operated by Shizen Operations Inc. Inuyama had been Microsoft’s first renewable energy purchase deal in Japan, which has enabled the growing presence of Renewable Power Purchase agreements in the Japanese market.

[1] https://www.shizenenergy.net/en/2025/10/03/seg_vppa_microsoft_100mw/

[USA] Newsom vetoes bill to improve load flexibility in California grid planning

As of October 1, 2025, California Governor Newsom vetoed a bill that would have required the state energy commission to evaluate new and existing load management mechanisms and authorize it to include those findings in its biennial integrated energy policy report. [1] AB44 directed the commission to adopt a set of technical requirements and load modification protocols upfront to provide the load-serving entity with an option to reduce or modify its electrical demand forecast. In a brief statement, the governor said that the bill does not align with the California Public Utility Commission’s Resource Adequacy framework, so the requirements would not improve grid reliability planning and create uncertainty around energy resource planning and procurement processes. Many of the provisions were welcomed by clean energy advocates and utilities, though some lamented the loss of funding for the state’s grid reliability programs, including one program dubbed the largest virtual power plant in the world.

[1] https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AB-44-Veto.pdf

[USA] DOE announces termination of 223 projects worth $7.56 billion

As of October 2, 2025, the Department of Energy announced the termination of 321 financial awards supporting 223 projects, all from Blue states that voted for Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. [1] The awards, amounting to $7.56 billion, were issued by the Offices of Clean Energy Demonstrations, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Grid Deployment, Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy and Fossil Energy. Democratic lawmakers and consumer advocates said DOE’s funding cancellation is illegal and an example of a presidential administration executing a political vendetta that will hurt Americans. Award recipients have 30 days to appeal a termination decision. Some of the projects have already begun this process.

[1] https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-termination-223-projects-saving-over-75-billion

[Japan] NTT and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries achieved highest efficiency in laser wireless power transmission

As of September 17, 2025, NTT and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries conducted an optical wireless power transmission experiment using laser beam to wirelessly transmit energy 1 kilometer away. [1] This marks the world’s highest achieved efficiency in an optical wireless power transmission using a silicon photoelectric conversion element, in an environment with strong atmospheric turbulence. This demonstrates the feasibility of delivering power to long distances, a development with many potential applications to on-demand power transmission to remote islands and disaster-stricken areas. The experiment combined NTT’s beam shaping technology with MHI’s light receiving technology to improve efficiency. In this experiment, the average electrical power extracted from the receiving panel was 152 W, corresponding to a wireless power transmission efficiency of 15%.

[1] https://www.mhi.com/news/250917.html

[USA] Permitting reform framework released by Bipartisan group in House

As of September 18, 2025, a bipartisan House group released a permitting reform framework that aims to simplify the process to build transmission lines, pipelines, and other power projects in the face of rising energy demand. [1] The 47-member group, also known as the Problem Solvers Caucus, intends to transform this framework into legislation. It calls for streamlining the permitting process by setting deadlines for court reviews of permitting decisions. The framework has arisen from repeated calls to address permitting reform in Congress this year. It includes several provisions, including: reducing the statute of limitations for permitting lawsuits to one year or less; restricting judicial standing for litigating projects to parties who submitted detailed comments during public review; requiring the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to initiate interregional transmission planning while prohibiting allocating costs to customers; amending the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETC) process to allow for individual high-impact transmission lines; among others.

[1] https://problemsolverscaucus.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/problemsolverscaucus.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/problem-solvers-caucus-permitting-reform-framework.pdf

[USA] Connecticut and Rhode Island file injunction for Revolution Wind restart

As of September 17, 2025, the attorneys general for Connecticut and Rhode Island requested an injunction to lift the Trump administration’s stop-work order for the 700-MW Revolution Wind project, which is 80% complete. [1] In their complaint filed with the federal district court of Rhode Island, the states said that the project has been vetted through every layer of the federal and state regulatory process, yet the federal government has “arbitrarily reversed course and issued a Stop Work Order without explanation.” [2] The lawsuit is similar to one filed by Revolution Wind in Washington DC, also seeking an injunction. In response to that request, the Trump administration had replied saying that the fact that Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) previously “approved Revolution Wind’s [construction and operations plan] does not eliminate the Secretary’s authority for continued oversight.” The states have emphasized that the project’s supportive infrastructure is also far along with 90% of physical construction at the mainland interconnection site “substantially completed.”

[1] https://orsted.com/en/company-announcement-list/2025/08/revolution-wind-receives-offshore-stop-work-order--145387701

[2] https://portal.ct.gov/ag/press-releases/2025-press-releases/ag-tong-files-for-preliminary-injunction-to-immediately-halt-revolution-wind-stop-work-order

[USA] Senate committee approves FERC nominees in party-line vote

As of September 11, 2025, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee advanced the nominations of Laura Swett and David LaCerte to fill the empty seats at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). [1] The vote was 12-8, with Senator Angus King (I-Maine) voting with the committee’s Republicans to advance the nominations. The Democrats on the panel opposed the nominations, however the full Senate must ultimately approve the nominations. Swett is an energy attorney at Vinson & Elkins and former FERC staffer. LaCerte is an official in the US Office of Personnel Management. Previously he was acting managing director at the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. During a September 4 confirmation hearing, Swett and LaCerte told senators that if confirmed, they would uphold the agency’s independence while remaining neutral toward generating technologies.

[1] https://www.energy.senate.gov/nominations

[USA] 2 Entergy gas plants approved by Texas regulators with $2.4B cap

As of September 11, 2025, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) approved a pair of new gas plants proposed by Entergy, but imposed a hard cap on costs of $2.4 billion to protect ratepayers. [1] This followed regulatory concerns that the utility had not made sufficient efforts to ensure the projects were cost-effective. [2] In a statement, Entergy CEO stated that the 754-MW Legend Power Station and 453-MW Lone Star Power Station plants are critical to serve significant growth in southeast Texas. [3] Entergy expects summer coincident peak load to increase 20% by 2028. According to a memo filed by PUCT Chair Thomas Gleeson, the capital costs for the dispatchable portfolio, inclusive of allowance for funds used during construction on which Entergy Texas may seek a recovery and a rate of return are capped at Entergy Texas’ modified estimated costs for each project in the portfolio ($1.6 billion for the Legend power station and $799 million for the Lone Star). A previous memo by Gleeson had contemplated a lower cost cap of $1.8 billion.

[1] https://interchange.puc.texas.gov/Documents/56693_471_1537672.PDF

[2] https://www.entergy.com/news/entergy-texas-receives-puct-approval-for-two-power-plants-to-support-southeast-texas-growth#top

[3] https://interchange.puc.texas.gov/Documents/56693_453_1532808.PDF

[Japan] India-Japan cooperation expands to include semiconductors, clean energy and ICT

As of August 29, 2025, India and Japan have strengthened their Special Strategic and Global Partnership with an emphasis on semiconductors, clean energy, critical minerals, and economic security. [1] The two governments launched the India-Japan dialogue on economic security, which aims to address economic issues with energy security implications. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of India and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) signed a cooperation pact that has initiated several projects in these sectors. For example, a partnership between Japanese semiconductor manufacturer Renesas Electronics and Indian conglomerate CG Power has emerged to set up an Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facility in Gujarat, India. Additionally, a new memorandum of cooperation has expanded collaboration on rare earths and critical minerals, boosting the mineral resources sector. The agreement builds on projects such as Toyota Tsusho’s refining initiative in Andhra Pradesh, India. Both countries are also coordinating through multilateral frameworks such as the Mineral Security Partnership and Quad Critical Minerals Initiatives. Clean energy has emerged as another focal point as India and Japan have signed a memorandum on the Joint Crediting Mechanism and a declaration on clean hydrogen and ammonia. They are also collaborating on battery supply chains and biofuel initiatives, supported by new lines of credit and investments in green projects.

[1] https://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/40066/Fact+Sheet++IndiaJapan+Economic+Security+Cooperation

[USA] More than 85 scientists assert that DOE climate report lacks merit

As of September 2, 2025, a group of over 85 scientists has issued a joint rebuttal to a recent US Department of Energy (DOE) report about climate change, suggesting that it misrepresents climate science. [1] The group submitted a 400-page review of the assessment written by five scientists selected by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who allegedly share a contrarian view of mainstream climate science. [2] This comes weeks after the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Environmental Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration that alleges that the secretive selection process of scientists who share only one perspective violates the law. [3] The DOE’s Climate Working Group consisted of four scientists and one economist who have all questioned the scientific consensus that climate change is a threat, sometimes framing global warming as beneficial. The group of climate scientists found several examples where the DOE authors cherry-picked evidence and neglected to mention the negative impacts of heat and climate-change-fueled extreme weather events. They also suggested that the DOE relied too heavily on debunked research, misinterpreted other research, and failed to undertake a peer-reviewed process to ensure credibility.

[1] https://library.edf.org/AssetLink/0kdlw6oq5v8hsvj152eqx01b0qn74uuq.pdf

[2] https://sites.google.com/tamu.edu/doeresponse/home?authuser=0

[3] https://www.energy.gov/topics/climate

[USA] Palisades one of the first to reach ‘operations’ status out of decommissioned nuclear plants

As of August 25, 2025, the Palisades power plant in Covert Township, Michigan, became the first decommissioned US nuclear plant to officially transition to “operations” status under the oversight of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), according to owner Holtec International. [1] This milestone follows the agency’s July 24 approval of Holtec’s licensing package to reauthorize power operations. [2] The plant is not yet generating electricity as it still requires extensive work, including reassembling the main generator and turbine. When Palisades returns to service, it will be capable of producing over 800 MW of baseload electricity. The plant’s new status follows its receipt of key licensing and regulatory approvals by the NRC in July. With this transition, Palisades is authorized to receive nuclear fuel and restart the plant once allowable conditions are met. Holtec is also planning to build a new small modular reactor (SMR) on the same site by the start of the next decade.

[1] https://holtecinternational.com/2025/08/26/hh-40-18/

[2] https://www.nrc.gov/cdn/doc-collection-news/2025/25-046.pdf

[Japan] Mitsubishi to withdraw from three offshore wind projects in Japan

As of August 27, 2025, Mitsubishi Corporation announced that, after reviewing business plans for three offshore wind projects in three coastal areas of Japan, it has decided not to proceed with development. [1] The withdrawal stems from concerns over profitability, as well as the business environment for offshore wind power. The release cites the pandemic and the “Ukraine crisis,” which have resulted in tight supply chains, inflation, fluctuating exchange rates, and rising interest rates. In 2021, projects were set to be operated in the Akita and Chiba prefectures, with a total projected capacity of 1.76 GW to be launched by 2030. Mitsubishi emphasizes that it continues to recognize offshore wind as an essential element of Japan’s energy mix. Of the three offshore wind auctions held in Japan, Mitsubishi-led groups won the first for the projects in Akita and Chiba.

[1] https://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/news/release/2025/20250827002.html