Energy Blast – May 11, 2011

According to the Moscow Times, operations have begun at reactor one of Iran’s Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power station, with a low-level nuclear reaction.  In the light of Japan’s nuclear emergency, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged countries using atomic energy to ensure that their reactors are built to endure multiple disasters.  This week’s main energy event will see major players from US, Russia and other Arctic bordering nations meet in Greenland’s capital Nuuk to discuss the creation of a coordinated search-and-rescue pact in the hotly-contested region.  Canada’s claims to the Northwest Passage could be bolstered by resource development in Northern Quebec, the premier of the French-speaking province has told the FT.  French lawmakers have begun debating proposals to ban the use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for extracting oil and gas deposits from shale because of ecological concerns.