The Socialist Party's Francois Hollande has narrowly beaten Nicolas Sarkozy in the French presidential election. It is unknown whether Hollande will carry through proposed large-scale cuts to France's nuclear generating capacity, including the closure of the country's oldest nuclear power plant.
Fossil fuels now provide some 90% of Japan's electricity as nuclear plants remain shut down. Consumption of crude and heavy oil for electricity is at a four-year high.
Germany has announced plans to upgrade and expand its electricity grid over the next decade in order to help renewable energy sources fill the gap left by its phase-out of nuclear power. An investment of some €20 billion ($25 billion) will be needed.
Tokyo is on a shortlist of three candidate cities to host the 2020 Olympic Games, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said that Japan's decision on whether to restart its idled nuclear power reactors could have a significant impact on its chances of hosting the event._57x48.jpg "Aluminium ready for shipping (Voerde) 57x48")
Germany's third largest aluminium producer has filed for bankruptcy as trade groups call for affordable power supply equivalent to the nuclear capacity taken off the grid as a response to the Fukushima accident.
France's new Council of Ministers has been announced, following the investiture of President Francois Hollande._615x160.jpg)
_68x48.jpg "Levy site layout (Progress Energy) 68x48")
Progress Energy has put back its nuclear new build plans by three years while requesting increased rates to finance the project. The Levy development should allow Florida to avoid becoming overdependent on currently cheap gas for power generation.