The ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan has been a disaster for uranium-related stocks, but a welcome boost for alternative energy companies as opposition to nuclear grows.

Should there be a catastrophic accident at Fukushima Daiichi, calls for nuclear power to be scrapped will get louder and there's "every possibility that the nuclear industry will be hit hard," argues David Navas at Westhouse Securities.

But he also points out that uranium stocks have priced in a "significantly" negative outlook "and would be expected to recover if catastrophe is avoided". Uranium prices have slumped 25%.

It's all bad timing for Kalahari Minerals. The half a billion pound AIM outfit only announced talks with China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corporation regarding a possible 290p a share cash offer a week ago. The shares are down at 209p from near 300p on Monday.

Berkeley Resources, digging around in Spain, has fallen from around 95p to 60p; Forte Energy, out in Guinea and Mauritania, is down from 8p to less than 5p; and URU Metals, formerly Niger Uranium, has lost a penny and a half.

The outlook's somewhat brighter for the gas, coal and alternative energy guys, thinks Westhouse.

Any preference for LNG would be good for major shippers like Shell and BG, and an increased focus on coal would be positive for Britain's largest coal importer, Hargreaves Services.

"Pricier alternative energy companies are likely to receive a boost, notably solar suppliers, and we would highlight PV Crystalox Solar which gets 25% of its revenues from Japan," the broker says.

Related share prices
BG Group (BG.) share price
Forte Energy NL (FTE) share price
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) share price
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) share price
Kalahari Minerals (KAH) share price
Berkeley Resources Ltd. (DI) (BKY) share price
PV Crystalox Solar (PVCS) share price
URU Metals Ltd. (DI) (URU) share price