Japan`s nuke mishap to raise fossil fuel demand 33 pct.

Japan will need at least two years to repair its nuclear power plants crippled by last week`s massive earthquake and tsunami, a think tank under Korea Electric Power Corp. said Friday.

In a report on the effects of and action needed for the nuclear accident in Japan, the think tank also urged Korea to prepare for higher fossil fuel demand in Japan, which is expected to grow about 33 percent to compensate for the fall in nuclear power generation through expanded use of coal and liquefied natural gas.

“Over the medium to long term, competition in securing LNG will intensify. So we need to complete long-term price contacts on these sources,” the report said.

LG Economic Research Institute said the explosions at the Fukushima nuclear power complex will cripple Japan’s economic and financial functions.

In a report on the economic shockwaves from Japan’s earthquake, the institute said, “The combined size of six reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station is 4.7 times that of reactors in Russia’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant.”

“The worst-case scenario in the series of reactor explosions is paralysis of the economy in Tokyo and vicinity, a significant threat to Japan`s economic standing, and a slowdown in the world economy.”

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