Japan quake boosts interest in new energy

Robin Batchelor, fund manager of BlackRock's New Energy Investment Trust, looks at how countries have reassessed their energy plans since the Japan earthquake.

A 9.0 magnitude earthquake resulting in an explosion at a Japanese nuclear power plant in March caused fears over the safety of nuclear power generation to resurface and prompted countries to reassess their energy plans. For example, the German government announced all of the country’s nuclear power plants will be shut down by 2022, reversing plans unveiled only a year ago to extend the life of nuclear reactors. Meanwhile, ongoing turmoil in some Middle Eastern and North African oil-producing nations has highlighted the reliance of many European countries on imported oil- and gas-related...