Japan utility: No money to develop renewables

TOKYO (AP) — The head of the Japanese utility that owns the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant says last year's meltdowns sapped away money it might have used to switch to alternative energy, making it all the more important for the company to stick with nuclear.

Japan nuclear disaster "clearly man-made," report says

TOKYO - Last year's crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant was "a man-made disaster," and not only due to the tsunami, a Japanese parliamentary panel said in a report.

Oil-hungry China needs energy security rethink

Beijing’s decision to suspend approval for new nuclear facilities in the aftermath of the Japanese nuclear crisis caught world markets by surprise and suggested a Chinese energy policy in crisis. But it is vulnerability to oil market disruptions emanating from ongoing events in the Middle East, not the ability to diversify future power supply, which is currently upending China’s energy game plan.
China’s recent nuclear decision, driven by short-term politics, is not likely to change its long-term energy path. The country’s oil dependence, however, is a much more pressing concern. China’s economy is more oil intensive than either America or Europe, while half of its imported oil comes from the Middle East and north Africa, compared with one-quarter for the US. If crude stays at current prices China will spend more on oil this year than it earns selling goods to the US.