But with several set to reach their year maximum lifespan in the s, only about 20 reactors are expected to still be in operation by under the current rules.
As part of the basic energy plan, which is being reviewed, the government is aiming for nuclear power to account for 20 to 22 percent of the country's electricity generation in fiscal to meet its greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal. The government estimates that about 30 reactors will be required to cover that level of power generation. To have the latest news and stories delivered to your inbox, subscribe here. Simply enter your email address below and an email will be sent through which to complete your subscription.
Japan mulls extending maximum nuclear reactor lifespan beyond 60 years. Photo taken June 23, , shows the No. The aging reactor restarted the same day, becoming the country's first nuclear unit to operate beyond the government-mandated year service period introduced under new rules set after the Fukushima disaster. Two under construction reactors Ohma and Shimane 3 have also applied.
Shutdown for periodic inspection July Suspension extended for pipe repair in pressurizer spray system. Both units shut down after initial restart due to court injunction. Injunction lifted Mar Unit 4 restarted and grid connected May , unit 3 in June Unit 3 shut down for periodic inspection Jan , unit 4 Oct Suspension extended for investigation of damaged steam generator heat transfer tube in unit 3.
Unit restarted Apr A description of each stage is provided on the NRA website. Pre-service inspections may be carried out upon receipt of the detailed design from a utility that is reviewed in stage 2 but typically take place after all three stages of review have been completed. The assessment would be based on safety guidelines in the New Regulatory Requirements formulated by the NRA in July after public consultation. The NRA pre-operational inspections, with reference to the engineering work programme, took an average of days for the five reactors that had restarted by end For the five reactors that have started since, the inspections took an average of over days.
Restarts have proceeded at a slower rate than previously anticipated for a number of reasons, including changing regulatory requirements.
Most recently, in May , the NRA ordered Kansai Electric Power to 'backfit' seven of its reactors based on a new analysis of the potential eruption of a dormant volcano, Mt. All the affected reactors had previously cleared compatibility examinations based on new regulatory standards. A month earlier, the NRA announced it would not extend deadlines for utilities building facilities to meet new anti-terrorism guidelines. The ruling affects at least 10 reactors, and has resulted in operating reactors temporarily shutting down.
To date, only PWRs have restarted. Under the general terms of a nuclear operator's agreement with local government, prefectural approval is required for these because any use during an emergency would mean releasing radioactivity in the course of avoiding the kind of hydrogen build-up which caused the explosions at Fukushima, destroying the superstructure of three units there.
In July the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan estimated that seven reactors could restart by the end of March , 12 more in the following year to March , with significant reduction in fossil fuel imports. This enhanced cost recovery provision was to encourage the decommissioning of older and smaller units.
By October all would be more than 40 years old, so that major expenditure on upgrades would be hard to justify even though all of them already had life extension approvals. Then in March Shikoku announced that Ikata 1 MWe net would be retired, due to the estimated JPY billion cost of upgrades required on the year-old unit for licence extension to 60 years.
Announcement of Ikata 2's retirement followed in March In July its expert panel said that activity could not be ruled out, and in April the NRA said that the fault could be active.
Hokuriku is seeking review of the finding. These have been shut down since a major earthquake in July In January the country experienced critical power shortages due to heavy snowfalls and disruption to LNG supplies.
The country's energy minister said supply was "touch-and-go Solar wasn't generating. Wind wasn't generating," and that in his opinion "nuclear power will be indispensable. This geographical and commodity vulnerability became critical due to the oil shock in At this time, Japan already had a growing nuclear industry, with five operating reactors. Re-evaluation of domestic energy policy resulted in diversification and in particular, a major nuclear construction program.
A high priority was given to reducing the country's dependence on oil imports. A closed fuel cycle was adopted to gain maximum benefit from imported uranium. Nuclear power had been expected to play an even bigger role in Japan's future. It envisaged deepening strategic relationships with energy-producing countries.
However, following the Fukushima accident, in October the government sought to greatly reduce the role of nuclear power. This appears to have been a significant factor in them losing office in elections see later section. The new government in adopted the 4th Basic or Strategic Energy Plan, with year perspective and declaring that nuclear energy is a key base-load power source and would continue to be utilized safely to achieve stable and affordable energy supply and to combat global warming.
At the same time, it was reported that 43 coal-fired power projects were planned or under construction, totalling The electricity market was deregulated in April at the distribution level, and the Revised Electricity Business Act required legal separation by April of generation from transmission and distribution. It will ensure greater interconnection among present utility networks, and increase the frequency converter capacity across the Hz east-west divide to 3 GWe by The Atomic Energy Basic Law, which strictly limits the use of nuclear technology to peaceful purposes, was passed in The law promoted three principles — democratic methods, independent management, and transparency — are the basis of nuclear research activities, as well as promoting international co-operation.
The first reactor to produce electricity in Japan was a prototype boiling water reactor: the Japan Power Demonstration Reactor JPDR which ran from to and provided a large amount of information for later commercial reactors.
It also later provided the test bed for reactor decommissioning. It began operating in July and continued until March After this unit was completed, only light water reactors LWRs utilising enriched uranium — either boiling water reactors BWRs or pressurised water reactors PWRs — have been constructed.
In , the first three such reactors were completed and began commercial operation. There followed a period in which Japanese utilities purchased designs from US vendors and built them with the co-operation of Japanese companies, who would then receive a licence to build similar plants in Japan. By the end of the s the Japanese industry had largely established its own domestic nuclear power production capacity and today it exports to other east Asian countries and is involved in the development of new reactor designs likely to be used in Europe.
This aimed, by , to standardise LWR designs in three phases. The third phase of the program involved increasing the reactor size to MWe and making significant changes to the designs. Its activities ranged very widely, from uranium exploration in Australia to disposal of high-level wastes. After two accidents and PNC's unsatisfactory response to them the government in reconstituted PNC as the leaner Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute JNC , whose brief was to focus on fast breeder reactor development, reprocessing high-burnup fuel, mixed-oxide MOX fuel fabrication and high-level waste disposal.
Japc has plants in both areas, which are separated by the Itoigawa River. This frequency difference arises from original equipment coming from Germany and USA respectively. The interconnection was increased to 2. Japan's energy policy was driven by considerations of energy security and the need to minimize dependence on imports. The main elements regarding nuclear power were to:. In March the Japanese government announced that it would rely heavily on nuclear energy to achieve greenhouse gas emission reduction goals set by the Kyoto Protocol.
It called for an increase in nuclear power generation by about 30 percent 13, MWe , with the expectation that utilities would have up to 12 new nuclear plants operating by In fact only five MWe net came on line in that decade. In June , a new Energy Policy Law set out the basic principles of energy security and stable supply, giving greater authority to the government in establishing the energy infrastructure for economic growth.
It also promoted greater efficiency in consumption, a further move away from dependence on fossil fuels, and market liberalisation. At the same time METI would reduce its power-source development tax, including that applying to nuclear generation, by On March 16, , the Nuclear Regulation Authority assessed that this was the most serious risk level on its four-point scale as it could have been a very grave situation regarding the security of nuclear material.
TEPCO had been aiming to restart the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant as a key site for improving its profitability; however, the frequent scandals mean it will be difficult to gain local approval. Originally published in Japanese and most recently updated on March 18, All of them are based in western Japan and are pressurized water reactors, which differ from the type at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. June The operating period of nuclear power plants is limited to 40 years in principle.
July No. He said he was concerned about a lack of transparency and the use of subsidies to sweeten local opinion to get the necessary restart approval.
A giant earthquake off the northeast coast of Japan in March spawned a tsunami that killed more than 15, people and knocked out cooling at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear station.
Explosions rocked the site as reactors melted down, causing huge clouds of radioactive matter to scatter over land and sea. Lax oversight allowing Tokyo Electric to downplay tsunami risks was one of the failings highlighted in the crisis. Bureaucrats from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry METI , which supports nuclear energy to power Japan's industrial economy, went to Fukui prefecture times over a two-year period until early this year.
The visits to Fukui by officials including the head of the powerful natural resources agency were raised at a recent hearing of the parliamentary committee. A subsidy of 2.
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