defunct
ソフトバンクが新たな事業を模索しています。
記事の中に出てくる”defunct”をWisdom英和辞典（第三版）』（三省堂）で調べると，「消滅した，機能停止した」などという意味がありました。”defunct”の語源ラテン語の「動作、性能」を表す”funct-“から来ています。”de”という否定の接頭語が付いているため，「機能停止した」という意味になるのだと思います。なお本文は利用されていないゴルフ場を再利用するという趣旨なので「営業していない」という訳がいいと思います。
通信事業だけでなくエネルギー産業にまで業務範囲を広げたら日本への影響力はますます強くなると思いました。(Ume)
Softbank to begin retail electricity sales in spring
TOKYO —
Telecommunications giant Softbank is gearing up to begin retail sales of electricity in the spring.
The company announced its plans to begin selling electric power derived from renewable sources to consumers at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday. Softbank said SB Power Corp, a subsidiary of its SB Energy Corp, will sell electricity derived from solar, wind, hydropower and other renewable energy to corporate customers at first, and then the general populace by 2016, Sankei Shimbun reported Saturday.
The plan is the first phase of Softbank chief Masayoshi Son’s long-stated desire to liberalize energy distribution in Japan.
SB Energy officials said they plan to develop and build solar-panel facilities and other equipment, after which SB Power will manage all distribution to the consumers.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government has been discussing electricity industry reform to break up regional monopolies.
A new, higher feed-in tariff for renewable energy has spurred many companies to start investing heavily in wind and solar power, transforming defunct golf courses into solar farms and building offshore wind turbines. Besides Softbank, such companies include trading houses Mitsui & Co and Marubeni Corp, Toyota Motor Corp’s Toyota Turbine and Systems Inc and Oji Paper, among others
