Cooling tower of E.ON nuclear reactor in Essenbach, German

Guenter Schiffmann/Bloomberg

Vapour rises from a cooling tower at the E.ON AG Isar nuclear reactor plants in Essenbach, Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to hold talks on energy policy with Germany’s 16 state prime ministers today after last month ordering a 90-day reassessment of nuclear power as workers fought a meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima plant.