Japan May Be Nuclear Free by May

Bloomberg, July 8, 2011

Japan may have no nuclear reactors running by May next year, should the round of tests announced by the government this week cause further delays to the restart of units idled for maintenance, a Bloomberg survey shows.

All nuclear reactors in Japan are required to close for maintenance every 13 months. No plants have come back online from regular checks after the March earthquake and tsunami caused three reactor meltdowns even though they were scheduled to, according to Kyushu Electric Power Co. and other companies surveyed by Bloomberg.

....Japanese nuclear operators fell in Tokyo trading yesterday because of concern the delay will mean they need to spend more on costlier fuel for thermal plants to meet power demand.

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