Tepco to restart Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant

• 10 months ago (2023-12-27)
• David Flin

Asia 892 Nuclear 659

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Japan’s nuclear power regulator has lifted an operational ban it imposed on Tokyo Electric Power ’s (Tepco’s) 8212 MW Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, clearing the path for a restart.

Tepco has been keen to bring the world’s largest nuclear power plant back online to slash operating costs, but a resumption still needs local consent in Niigata prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast. The plant has been offline since 2011, when the Fukushima disaster prompted the shutdown of all nuclear power plants in Japan at the time.

In 2021, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) barred Tepco from operating Kashiwazaki-Kariwa due to safety breaches. Citing improvements in the safety management system, the NRA lifted a corrective action order on 27 December that had prevented Tepco from transporting new uranium fuel to the plant or loading fuel rods into the reactors.