From Newsmax:

Japan's nuclear crisis could reverberate through global energy markets for years to come, pushing up prices as suppliers look to take advantage of a surge in demand for non-nuclear fuels from the world's third-largest economy.

The 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that likely killed more than 18,000 people earlier this month shut down 11 of Japan's 54 nuclear power plants – a source that provided 30 percent of the country's power. That means producers of natural gas, coal and oil – particularly in Asia – will be called on to help fuel conventional sources of power generation in Japan.

The government is still struggling to contain radiation leaks at the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in the devastated northeast. Damage from the tsunami and attempts to cool reactor cores by dumping sea water by helicopter almost certainly means the plant is out of action permanently. The future of some of the other plants is...

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