An Australian company working on renewable energy has caught the attention of one of Japan's largest utilities.
Here's a small example of big change in the world's energy sector.
Start with a utility — Japan Electric Power Development — more commonly known as J-Power.
It produces electricity from coal and hydroelectric power, and also operates transmission lines connecting Japan's four main islands.
J-Power is spending about a quarter of a billion U.S. dollars to buy Genex, an Australian renewable energy company with wind and solar assets.
Genex also has big plans for pumped storage hydropower — a way of generating and storing electricity — kind of a giant battery — in this case using an abandoned gold mine.
It needs financing to expand that project.
J-Power is anxious to stay on track with its timetable to cut carbon dioxide emissions — and could use renewable insights from Genex.
And it's not alone.
Just last year, another Japanese power giant bought half of another Australian renewable energy firm.
Tokyo-based Inpex invested several hundred million dollars in Enel Green Power Australia.
The common theme here: large traditional Japanese energy companies providing capital — and renewable energy firms showing potential paths to a new future.
