The U.S. seems to be bucking the trend of phasing out nuclear power plants. 
Unlike Europe, which seemed to have discovered a newfound desire to decommission all of their nuclear power plants. Europe found this new determination after seeing what happened in Japan after the Fuskushima disaster. Japan is still grappling with the shutdown of all of their nuclear power plants in its ability to keep the juice on in homes and factories. Japan decided to re-inspect all of their plants after the Fuskushima disaster, causing the nationwide shutdown. They have still not re-commissioned the shut down plants, and an on going societal argument is ensuing in Japan over nuclear power. Europe expects to shut down 150 of its nuclear power plants by 2030. Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland plan on shutting down all plants by 2030. Europe will account for nearly seventy percent of the total number of nuclear power plants expected to be decommissioned in the world by 2030. The US however remains undeterred and has announced plans to extend the lives of 71 of its nuclear reactors by 20 years, with further life extensions expected in the future. Only five reactors in the US are due to undergo the decommissioning process by between 2012 and 2030 while neighboring Canada will shut down 17.
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