11 years after Fukushima, Japan set to restart Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, world’s largest nuclear plant – Firstpost

A sense of momentum is building around the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Complex.

Idle for more than 10 years, the world’s largest nuclear facility off the coast of Niigata Prefecture is now awaiting the decisive green light from the regional governor that will allow it to generate electricity again.

Such a restart would mark Japan’s clearest step toward reviving nuclear power nearly 15 years after the Fukushima disaster, as the country seeks to cut carbon emissions and stabilize its energy supply. But local political resistance has repeatedly slowed efforts to bring the reactors back online.

Governor Hideo Hanazumi has said he will announce his decision “soon”, with some local reports putting Friday as a possible date. A cautious and measured man, Hanazumi has stressed that he wants to weigh “all possible factors” before making a decision on the plant’s future.

according to nikkei business dailyHanazumi plans to submit his decision when the prefectural assembly’s regular session begins on December 2. If the assembly supports their stance, they are expected to formally respond to the central government’s request for approval to resume.

Meanwhile, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) intends to reactivate the plant’s two largest reactors—Units 6 and 7, which together can generate 2,710 megawatts of power. The company is also considering retiring some of the other five reactors on the site.

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa has a total capacity of 8,212 MW.

In October, Tepco completed an inspection of the No. 6 reactor after fuel loading and said it had verified that key systems needed for startup were operating normally.

The utility has also previously contributed 100 billion yen ($644 million) to a community assistance fund in an effort to build local support for the restart, despite some resistance it has been attempting for years.

If given the green light, the move would be in line with new Prime Minister Sanae Takachi’s strategy to accelerate nuclear restarts as part of a broader plan to strengthen Japan’s energy security.

Restarting a portion of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant will also help reduce Japan’s spending on liquefied natural gas, which is crucial for the world’s second-largest LNG importer after China as the government focuses on easing cost-of-living pressures.

So far, Japan has brought 14 reactors back into operation under post-Fukushima safety standards. By the end of October, 11 of them were active, providing a combined 10,647 megawatts – a sharp contrast to the 54 reactors in service before the 2011 disaster.

The possible restart of Unit No. 6 at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant early next year will significantly reduce Japan’s need for liquefied natural gas (LNG). “If Unit No. 6 is restarted early next year, it could displace about 1 million tons of LNG demand from Japan next year,” said Go Katayama, an analyst at data and analytics company Kpler. reuters,

For the operator, Tepco, the restart is also a major financial boost.

After years of paying huge compensation related to the 2011 reactor accident, the company has said it expects to boost its annual net profit by 100 billion yen ($644 million) by bringing back just one reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant.