Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant (Credit: Tepco)
Hideyo Hanazumi, governor of Niigata Prefecture in Japan, has approved the restart of two reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant. The seven-unit facility, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company, is the largest nuclear power plant in the world. It has been shut down since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami struck the country, severely damaging TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Earthquakes: The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa facility was damaged by an earthquake in 2007. While none of the reactors were damaged, TEPCO took the units off line at that time in order the enhance the facility’s earthquake resistance.
By 2011, four of the units were back on line. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa was not affected by the 2011 disaster, but after that earthquake and tsunami, TEPCO once again took all reactors off line.
All other reactors in Japan were also shut down after the Fukushima Daiichi accident, though 14 have since been restarted.
Units 6 and 7: During the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa shutdown, TEPCO worked on improving the safety of the plant, with a special focus on Units 6 and 7. In December 2017, Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority granted the company permission to restart those two units.
Hanazumi’s approval to restart Units 6 and 7 was welcomed by TEPCO, which plans to initially prioritize the startup of Unit 6. Fuel was loaded into that reactor in June. Once operational, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa-6 will be the company’s first reactor restart since the Fukushima Daiichi event. However, the restart still requires formal approval from the Niigata Prefecture Assembly, which is scheduled to discuss the issue in December.
Steps to safety: Hanazumi directed the government to take steps to ensure the safety of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa and the surrounding community. These steps include the following:
- Continuing to improve plant safety.
- providing thorough explanations about the plant’s safety.
- Promoting public awareness of evacuation procedures.
- Constructing new roads for any possible evacuation.
- Closely monitoring TEPCO’s performance.
- Reviewing the allocation of subsidies for areas hosting nuclear power plants.
Extremely important: Hanazumi emphasized that the “government’s policy is to promote nuclear power generation, which boasts excellent supply stability and technological self-sufficiency.”
He added that TEPCO has announced that it will contribute to Niigata Prefecture approximately ¥100 billion (approximately $637.4 milliom) over the course of a decade from revenues from operations and will also make new business investments in the area to promote local industry and create jobs.
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