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Wind Power News: Asia
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Internal email sheds light on wind-power bribery scandal
A former president of Japan Wind Development, currently at the center of a bribery scandal, told executives of the firm that he had asked a lawmaker to make a parliamentary statement in connection with the company’s operations, informed sources said Saturday. Masayuki Tsukawaki, 64, sent an email to multiple Japan Wind Development executives saying that he urged House of Representatives member Masatoshi Akimoto, 48, who was arrested for allegedly receiving bribes, to ask a question in the country’s parliament about . . . Complete story »
Bird pooped Walkaway wind turbines turned away with no quarantine facility at Mid West Ports Authority
Bird poo–contaminated wind turbines from China have been turned away from Geraldton Port due to a biosecurity risk, fuelling concerns over a lack of quarantine facilities for big imports. A vessel transporting large wind turbines was due to dock in Geraldton on Friday, September 8, but was rejected after it was found the shipment had been tainted with bird faeces while at sea. The wind turbines were redirected to Fremantle to be washed at a quarantine facility and will be . . . Complete story »
Wind turbine construction delayed after police refuse to oversee it
Construction on the wind turbine project in the North has not resumed, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying on Sunday that it would. The lack of resumption is due to the fact that the Israel Police, whom Netanyahu said would oversee security for the work, did not agree to the work. As such, it has been reported in Hebrew media that the construction work will not resume until after the Jewish High Holy Days. Protests had rocked the region as . . . Complete story »
Korea’s Jeju Island increasingly has to curtail its renewables
Along the turquoise beaches of South Korea’s Jeju Island, hundreds of wind turbines spin as ferociously as the coastal wind. A few kilometers inland, large solar farms are hard at work converting the sun’s light into power. During periods of high wind, the wind farm receives notices to halt its power generation. This is to prevent excess influx of power into the grid, which could potentially compromise the stability of the system and create a blackout. Consequently, hundreds of wind . . . Complete story »
Work on Golan wind turbines that sparked unrest expected to resume next week
Controversial construction work on wind turbines in the Golan Heights is expected to resume next week, despite continued opposition by the area’s Druze community. Members of the community held fiery mass protests against the project in June, leading the government to halt the work. But negotiations have not borne fruit. Construction is first expected to resume on turbines that are farthest from the protesting communities, in the apparent hope of avoiding a repeat of June’s discord. The Prime Minister’s Office . . . Complete story »
Prosecutors question Japan lawmaker over wind farm bribery case
Tokyo prosecutors have questioned lower house member Masatoshi Akimoto on a voluntary basis over allegations that he received tens of millions of yen from a wind power company, sources familiar with the matter said Friday. The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office’s special investigation squad is expected to decide whether to build a bribery case against the former ruling Liberal Democratic Party member, known as an advocate of renewable energy. The president of Japan Wind Development Co., Masayuki Tsukawaki, has decided . . . Complete story »
Transition to “clean energy” is hurting Indigenous communities
When Francisco Calí Tzay, the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples, spoke at the 22nd United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, or UNPFII, last week, he listed clean energy projects as some of the most concerning threats to their rights. “I constantly receive information that Indigenous Peoples fear a new wave of green investments without recognition of their land tenure, management, and knowledge,” said Calí Tzay. His statements – and those made by other delegates – at . . . Complete story »
Netanyahu lets deadline for resuming work on controversial Golan wind farm slip by
Construction on a controversial wind turbine project in the Golan Heights that sparked large protests by members of the Druze community has not resumed despite the Prime Minister’s Office telling the company behind the project that they could return to work no later than August 1. In June, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a temporary halt to the project following violent protests and set up an inter-ministerial committee to address the issue. In a letter sent by Netanyahu’s military secretary . . . Complete story »
Japan suspends wind power projects over threat to endangered birds
The central and local governments have suspended a number of wind farm construction projects over concerns about the protection of endangered birds. Japan is currently pursuing wind power as a source of clean energy with an eye on reducing carbon dioxide emissions, but fears have also been voiced over wind turbine strikes on rare avian species. There have been many cases in which imperiled birds of prey – including golden eagles and mountain hawk-eagles – have been killed in bird strikes both . . . Complete story »
Akimoto quits LDP as wind farm bribery case heats up
Prosecutors on Aug. 5 searched the home of the president of a wind farm developer as part of a bribery investigation, triggering the resignation of a ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker who is also embroiled in the case. Investigators with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office searched the home of Masayuki Tsukawaki, 64, in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward. Tsukawaki is president of Japan Wind Development Co. On Aug. 4, investigators searched the offices of Masatoshi Akimoto, 47. That same day, Akimoto . . . Complete story »