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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/asia-pacific/40024634

New System to Pay 20% More for Solar Power from Japan Businesses’ Rooftops

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 2023

The economy ministry plans to introduce a system in which electric power generated by solar panels on the roofs of company buildings, factories and warehouses will be purchased at 20% higher prices than power generated from panels on the ground.

There are a limited number of places where solar panels can be installed, so the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry is aiming to encourage the proliferation of renewable energy sources through the use of roof space.

Solar power facilities have rapidly increased due to the system of purchasing electric power from them at fixed prices, a practice that began in 2012. Japan now has the world’s highest capacity of installed facilities for its land area, but the remaining land plots suitable for newly installed solar panels are small.

The new pricing system will start in October. From that point, the panels of solar power generation businesses that are certified by March 2025 and have at least 10 kilowatts of output capacity will be eligible.

If solar panels are installed on roofs, electric power from them will be purchased at ¥12 per kilowatt-hour. This is 20% higher than the ¥10 for power from panels on flat ground that has an output capacity between 10 kilowatts and less than 50 kilowatts.

It is sometimes necessary to build work scaffolds to install rooftop panels, panel or parts when they are repaired. Installing panels on roofs is therefore more costly than doing it on the ground.

The costs of buying the power they produce will be passed on to electricity bills. However, “this will not put a heavy financial burden on the public,” a ministry official said, even if the new purchasing price is 20% higher.

In its energy basic plan compiled in 2021, the government stipulated that renewable energy will be made the main electric power source.

The Japan News

Asia News Network

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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/us-canada/40024628

Arctic blast grips US Northeast

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 2023

A powerful arctic blast swept into the US Northeast on Friday, pushing temperatures to perilously low levels across the region, including New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, where the wind chill dropped to 105 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (-79 Celsius), forecasters said.

Wind-child warnings were posted for most of New York state and all six New England states – Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine – a region home to some 16 million people.

The National Weather Service (NWS) said the deep freeze would be relatively short-lived, but the combination of numbing cold and biting winds gripping the Northeast would pose life-threatening conditions well into Saturday.

Schools in Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts, New England‘s two largest cities, were among those closed on Friday over concerns about the risk of hypothermia and frostbite for children walking to school or waiting for buses.

Boston was at 8 degrees F (-13 C) on Friday evening, while in Worcester, Massachusetts, 40 miles (64 km) to the west, the mercury hit 3 F (-16 C), with temperatures expected to fall even lower, according to the National Weather Service.

Record cold was expected in both cities on Saturday. Forecasts called for a low of -6 F in Boston, exceeding an 1886 record -2 for the date. Worcester was headed for a low of -11 on Saturday, which would break its previous 1934 record of -4 for the date.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu declared a state of emergency through Sunday and opened warming centres to help the city’s 650,000-plus residents cope with what the NWS has warned was shaping up to be a “once-in-a-generation” cold front.

Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/world/us-canada/40024627

New York City mayor spends night in migrant shelter amid controversy over conditions

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 2023

New York City Mayor Eric Adams spent Friday night at a new migrant shelter in Brooklyn amid controversy over the facility’s safety and humanitarian conditions.

He was accompanied by New York State Assembly member, Eddie Gibbs, and advocate for the homeless, Shams DaBaron.

Adams posted a video on his Twitter account, showing him playing video games with shelter residents and meeting with them.

In a statement issued after his night in the shelter, Adams said, “I’d like to be clear that the facilities at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal are providing the same services to asylum seekers as every other humanitarian relief centre in the city, and the team at the terminal is giving new meaning to the words ‘love thy neighbour.'”

Adams said that he, Gibbs and DaBaron slept at the terminal “alongside hundreds of migrants.”

The Brooklyn Cruise Terminal was converted into a temporary shelter for male migrants at the end of January. It is expected to accommodate 1,000 single men, including several who were previously housed at the Watson Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. The men are being relocated to the Cruise Terminal shelter after the decision was made to use the hotel as a shelter for migrant families.

The move was met with some outcry, according to New York media reports. CBS New York reported some men complained of overly-cramped conditions, lack of privacy, and not enough bathrooms in the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal shelter. However, CBS also reported that other migrants countered that criticism, praising the conditions and the food.

The Legal Aid Society and Coalition for the Homeless, two New York-based non-profit organizations, have also expressed concern over conditions in the new shelter.

More than 44,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City since last spring, Adams said in his statement. He has previously said that the influx of migrants is leaving the city with “a humanitarian crisis.” The mayor has called on the federal government to develop a strategy that will spread the migrant population across several cities.

Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/world/us-canada/40024626

US shoots down Chinese spy balloon

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 2023

US military fighter aircraft shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon as it floated off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, drawing to a close a dramatic saga that shone a spotlight on worsening Sino-US relations.

A video posted on social media shows a flying object believe to be the suspected Chinese spy balloon, falling from the sky after being hit.

Biden said he had issued an order on Wednesday (February 1) to take down the balloon, but the Pentagon had recommended waiting until it could be done over open water.

Multiple fighters and refuelling aircraft were involved in the mission, but only one – an F-22 fighter jet – took the shot, using a single AIM-9X missile, a senior U.S. military official said. The balloon was shot down about six nautical miles off the US coast, the official said.

The shootdown came shortly after the US government ordered a halt to flights in and out of three South Carolina airports – Wilmington, Myrtle Beach and Charleston — due to what it said at the time was an undisclosed “national security effort.” The flights resumed Saturday afternoon.

The balloon first entered a US identification zone on Jan. 28, entered Canadian airspace three days later, and then re-entered US airspace on Jan. 31, a US defence official said.

US officials publicly disclosed the balloon’s presence over the United States on Thursday (February 2).

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https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/world/asia-pacific/40024600

Friday, Feranuary 3, 2023

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 03, 2023

Check out what’s hot in the region as The Nation puts together headlines from members of Asia News Network (ANN). Click to read more:

ANN news highlights: Fri, Feb 3, 2023
Bringing Asia Closer

Military Philippines-US 
US gets access to more PH bases | Inquirer
 

Washington moves stoke tensions, Beijing says  – China Daily
 

Editorial: Increasing American bases may not bring the Philippines safety: Editorial flash – China Daily

Politics Pakistan
PM calls All Parties Conference on Feb 7, invites Imran Khan – Dawn
 

Terror Pakistan
Peshawar mosque bomber was in police uniform, says KP IG – Dawn

Myanmar Crisis I
Mixed reactions to Indonesia’s plan to send military general to Myanmar for talks – Straits Times
 

Myanmar Crisis II
Myanmar’s Road Back to Democracy Unclear with China, Russia Backing Junta – The Japan News
 

Social Media Philippines
PH social media craze: 77% of Filipinos more engaging online than in real life | Inquirer 
 

Society S Korea
Seoul city to crack down on teen use of ‘Room cafes’ – Korea Herald
 

Travel HK 
HK to give away 500,000 free airline tickets worldwide | China Daily
 

Telecom S Korea 
Samsung bolsters ties with Qualcomm, Google to deter Apple – Korea Herald
 

Business Japan
Hiroki Totoki to Replace Kenichiro Yoshida as Sony President – The Japan News
 

Solar Singapore
Sembcorp opens S-E Asia’s largest energy storage system on Jurong Island to boost solar power supply – Straits Times