Japan set to restart world's largest nuclear power plant

Japan’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, the world’s largest, could soon be brought back into operation after being shut down more than a decade ago following the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi, whose prefecture is home to the plant, is expected to announce as early as Friday that he agrees to partially restart it, Kyodo reported, citing several unnamed sources. His approval would remove the last obstacle to Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings’ (TEPCO) efforts to restart the plant.

Hanazumi will submit his plan for consideration by the prefectural assembly, the region’s legislative body, at its regular session, which begins on 2 December. If the assembly backs his decision, Hanazumi is expected to grant the central government’s request and approve the restart, the Nikkei newspaper reported.

TEPCO plans to bring the plant’s two largest units, numbers 6 and 7, back into operation. Together, they can generate 2710 megawatts (MW) of electricity, slightly more than the installed capacity of the Temelín nuclear power plant. The company is also considering retiring some of the five remaining units. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant has a total installed capacity of 8212 MW, roughly twice the combined capacity of Temelín and Dukovany.

TEPCO has previously pledged 100 billion JPY (13.4 billion CZK) to support local communities in an effort to win backing for the plant’s restart, which it has been pursuing for many years despite opposition from some local residents. If approved, the restart would align with the plans of new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who wants to encourage more nuclear power plant restarts to strengthen energy security. Partially resuming operations at the plant would also help reduce Japan’s costs for importing liquefied natural gas (LNG). Japan is the world’s second-largest LNG buyer after China.

Since introducing stricter safety rules following the 2011 Fukushima disaster, Japan has restarted several reactors. At the end of October, 11 reactors with an installed capacity of 10.647 MW were in operation. Before the disaster, Japanese power companies operated 54 reactors, Reuters reported.