credit: hightower report
The Japanese disaster also has the potential to profoundly impact the world energy situation. ... According to the World Nuclear Association, nuclear power provides about 14% of the world’s electricity, almost 24% of electricity in OECD countries, and 34% in the EU. Current estimates of the lost production in Japan are 55 TWh per year or just over 2.0% of the world’s nuclear energy capacity. Some estimates indicate that it could take as many as 185,000 barrels per day of oil to make up for the lost production. Other countries have idled plants for safety checks, which means even more production could be lost. Seeing 10% of nuclear plants worldwide taken off line could increase petroleum demand by nearly 860,000 barrels per day. ... read more...