Re: Japan's auto manufacturers may have to slow down this summer
 

meanwhile in Germany:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-0...bdew-says.html

Utilities Plan $79 Billion of Power Plants in Germany, BDEW Says

By Stefan Nicola - Apr 23, 2012

Utilities and investors plan to spend 60 billion euros ($79 billion) to build and modernize power plants in Germany as the country closes its nuclear reactors over the coming decade, the BDEW utility lobby said.

The 84 projects, of which 69 are at least in the permitting stages and scheduled to start operating by 2020, have a combined capacity of 42,056 megawatts, the BDEW said in an e-mailed statement today. They include 23 sea-based wind farms, 29 gas- fired stations, 17 coal generators and 10 hydro-power pump stations, it said.

Re: Japan's auto manufacturers may have to slow down this summer
 

They still want to restart two reactors.. good luck with that!

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...8570GO20120608

Japan PM says two reactors must restart for "survival of society"

(Reuters) - Japan's prime minister said on Friday that two idled nuclear reactors in western Japan must be restarted to protect jobs and ensure the "survival of society", risking a voter backlash given safety fears more than a year after the Fukushima crisis.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda sought to soothe those worries at a news conference just hours after the former president of Fukushima plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co testified in front of a panel appointed by parliament to probe the disaster.

Noda's decision to restart the two reactors, expected to be confirmed at a meeting with key ministers, will ease worries about power shortages among firms in the region, including struggling electronics giants Panasonic Corp and Sharp Corp.

"Cheap and stable electricity is vital. If all the reactors that previously provided 30 percent of Japan's electricity supply are halted, or kept idle, Japanese society cannot survive," Noda said, pointing to the possibility that more companies would shift output offshore and jobs would be lost.

"It is my decision that Ohi reactors No.3 and No.4 should be restarted to protect the people's livelihoods."

Re: Japan's auto manufacturers may have to slow down this summer
 

meanwhile, NG is set to get more expensive in the UK:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...8H501U20120611

Tepco to buy 1 mll tonnes of LNG a year from Qatar

(Reuters) - Tokyo Electric Power Co said on Monday that it has signed a contract with Qatar Liquefied Gas Company to purchase 1 million tonnes of liquiefied natural gas (LNG) annually from August.