Japan is ready to be green, with big plans to “mobilize ‘all necessary policies’ to expand the use of clean energy, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said today,” reports Businessweek.
“Abe, addressing a budget committee in parliament, said that the country plans to utilize the incentive program for renewables that started in July 2012 and to push deregulation and technological development, adding that renewables are important for energy security.”
“’We will mobilize all necessary policies to introduce clean energy,’ he said. His comments come as Japan reviews its energy policies a week before the three-year anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.”
In metal price news for renewables…
Prices for neodymium saw the biggest increase on the weekly Renewables MMI® this week, rising 6.2 percent and settling. Prices for Chinese cobalt cathodes remained constant, closing the week. The price of silicon did not change since the previous week. Chinese steel plate traded sideways last week.
Japanese steel plate remained unchanged for the week. Korean steel plate remained essentially flat from the previous week. Chinese steel plate prices held steady from the previous week. US steel plate saw a 0.6 percent decline over the past week.
For the fifth day in a row, US grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) remained essentially flat.
The Renewables MMI® collects and weights 8 metal price points used extensively within the renewable energy industry to provide a unique view into renewable energy metal price trends. For more information on the Renewables MMI®, how it’s calculated or how your company can use the index, please drop us a note at: info (at) agmetalminer (dot) com.