The world’s largest nuclear power plant will reopen

Japan’s nuclear regulator on Wednesday lifted a two-year ban on Tokyo Electric Power’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, allowing the company to obtain a local license to restart the plant.

Tepco has sought to bring the world’s largest nuclear power plant back online to reduce operating costs, but the restart requires the consent of local authorities in Niigata Prefecture, the city of Kashiwazaki and the village of Kariva where it is located. It is unknown when we will be able to obtain the necessary positive answers.

The 8,212-megawatt (MW) plant has been offline since 2012, a year after the Fukushima nuclear disaster that led to the closure of all nuclear power plants in Japan at the time.

Resource-poor Japan intends to bring most of its nuclear plants back online

In 2021, Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) banned Tepco from operating the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, the country’s only operating nuclear power plant, due to safety violations including failure to secure nuclear materials and violations where it was discovered that an unauthorized employee had gained access to secret areas of the station.

Citing improvements to its safety management system, the NRA on Wednesday rescinded a corrective action order that would have barred Tepco from transferring new uranium fuel to the plant or loading fuel rods into the reactors, effectively preventing the plant from restarting.

Following the regulator’s decision, Tepco said it would continue its efforts to restore the trust of local people and society at large, and Japan’s chief cabinet secretary said the government would do everything possible to help that process. “The government will strive to understand and cooperate with Niigata Prefecture and the local population, paying particular attention to safety,” said Yoshimasa Hayashi, a government spokesman.

Restarting nuclear power plants

Resource-poor Japan aims to bring most of its nuclear plants back online to reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels such as liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Last week, the Institute of Energy Economics of Japan (IEEJ) predicted that Japan’s LNG imports would fall to 58.5 million metric tons in the 2024/25 fiscal year from an estimated 64 million tons this year. The decline will be influenced by the expected restart of several more nuclear reactors and increased use of renewable energy sources.

Tepco shares rose sharply after the NRA said earlier this month it would consider lifting the ban after conducting an on-site inspection and meeting with the company’s chairman.

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