Japan

Using the natural disaster in Japan as a catalyst for change, Panasonic, (NYSE: PC) one of the largest manufacturers of consumer electronics, has announced its intention to pursue a sustainable future.

Innovative nuclear technology company General Fusion has raised C$19.5 million in a series "B" financing round.

Created in the wake of the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown, the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) was formed to unite every company in the world with an operating nuclear power plant to monitor and "achieve the highest possible standards of nuclear safety."

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) said Monday that Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) and two Japanese partners -- Sumitomo Corporation and Itochu Corporation -- will pay about $500 million for a majority equity stake in the world's largest wind farm, under construction near Arlington, Oregon. Google’s share will be about $100 million. 

In the wake of the nuclear disaster that occurred in Japan after a major earthquake rocked the island nation last month, the United States has been exploring the safety not only of its nuclear power plants, but also of nuclear energy, on the whole.

Shares in the Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc. (TEPCO), the owner of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, dropped to an all-time low today amidst concerns of the company's ability to contain radiation at the troubled facility.

Here are the TOP 20 performing companies on the EnergyBoom Clean 100 Index during Q1 2011 (January 3 through March 31).

The March 11 earthquake and tsunami off Sendai, Japan -- and the resulting nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant -- transformed a strong performance for Q1 equities markets into a gangbusters performance. Renewable energy stocks -- especially wind and solar power companies -- were huge beneficiaries of investors betting that these sectors will fill the void created by a flight from nuclear. 

As Japan and the world try to learn from what went wrong at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant causing the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, questions continue to mount about the safety of nuclear power generation. In the United States questions are turning increasingly taking the shape of demands.

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