Japan circling back to nuclear power after Fukushima disaster — Forbes

” In the immediate aftermath of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that crippled the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, Japan idled all 54 of its nuclear plants. Now, though, five of them are back online while many more may be on the way.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is pro-business and who realizes that without carbon-free nuclear power the country won’t meet its climate objectives, has said that reactors deemed safe by regulators would be restarted. To that end, the Japanese media is reporting that the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco) — the state-run utility that operated the Fukushima plant — is expected to get approval to rev up two units that resemble the design of the reactors that succumbed to the natural disaster in March 2011. 

“One consequence of the accident was a gradual shutdown of all nuclear power plants, which has led to a significant rise in fossil fuels use, increased fuel imports and rising carbon dioxide emissions. It has also brought electricity prices to unsustainable levels,” the International Energy Agency (IEA) reports. “The IEA encourages Japan to increase low-carbon sources of power supply.”

Meanwhile, another Japanese utility, Kansai Electric Power Co., recently started up two different reactors. While 43 other reactors remain offline, about 21 re-start applications are now pending with an estimated of 12 units to come back in service by 2025 and 18 by 2030, Japan Forward reports.  (The Fukushima accident took out four of the 54 nuclear units. Five of those are now back in service, leaving 43 idled.)

Right now, nuclear energy is providing 1.7% of Japan’s electricity, which is down from 30% before the 2011 accident. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry says that if the country is to meet its obligations under the Paris climate accord, then nuclear energy needs to make up between 20-22% of the nation’s portfolio mix — a country with limited natural resources upon which it can rely. Under that agreement, Japan has committed to cut its CO2 emissions by 26% between 2013 and 2030. 

“We believe that energy policy is a core policy of a nation, and must be approached from a medium- to long-term standpoint … especially as Japan has few energy resources,” the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan chairman Makoto Yagi is quoted as saying by the World Nuclear News. 

One factor that has helped Japan is a nuclear watchdog that was created in September 2012: The Nuclear Regulation Authority has eliminated the cozy relationships that allowed utility employees to become nuclear regulators and it has stood up to political pressure to turn a blind eye to operational shortcuts. The agency has shown its willingness to exert its influence and to routinely give updates on the disabled Fukushima nuclear facility. 

As such, the country’s nuclear reactors are all going through rigorous stress tests to ensure that they can survive events similar to what happened in March 2011. The Federation of American Scientists has said that the accident at Fukushima was preventable and its findings are being used to enable the restarts of more nuclear units in Japan.  

The potential restart of Japan’s nuclear fleet is within grasp in large measure because the infrastructure is in place and dismantling it would take decades, all of which makes nuclear power a more plausible long term alternative than importing liquefied natural gas, or LNG. Besides the economics, nuclear energy — from a climate point of view — is better than natural gas. 

No doubt, Japan has turned more and more to renewable energy and energy efficiency, which have helped the country reduce both its electricity consumption and its fossil fuel usage — something that a a majority of the country’s citizens favor. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry suggests increasing its green energy mix from 9 percent today 22-24% by 2030. Major Japanese companies such as Toshiba, Hitachi and Mitsubishi are investing in wind, solar, and smart-grid technologies.

In combination with nuclear energy, low-carbon sources would amount to roughly 45% of the electricity portfolio mix by 2030 — if Japanese trade and energy officials’ plans come to fruition. Meantime, fossil fuels — coal, LNG and oil — would comprise 55% by then, which have been as much as 85% in recent years.

“The key in moving forward is how to implement the new energy mix that the government has set,” Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan chairman Yagi said. “The power companies will meet the (safety, energy security, economic efficiency and environmental conservation standards) and contribute to the energy policy of Japan by maintaining and establishing generation facilities as appropriate, fully in line with the government’s policies.” 

The Japanese people’s continued skepticism is natural and healthy. But their leadership asserts that the critics’ concerns have been addressed and that the nuclear energy sector has undergone a transformation — one that is safer and more transparent than it has ever been. If Japan is to expand its economy while reducing its CO2 emissions, officials there reason that nuclear energy is critical and thus, they must leverage their existing assets. “

contributions by Ken Silverstein

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Japan nuclear regulator leaning toward restarts — The Diplomat

” Japan’s nuclear sector is undergoing intense scrutiny this summer as changes to the governing panel of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) are underway, and nuclear energy suppliers go through the NRA’s inspection process in order to restart their reactors. Additionally, news of the government’s handling of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, and the ongoing cleanup effort, are influencing the discourse on whether or not to speed up the restart Japan’s nuclear program.

On Tuesday, the lower house of the Diet approved two new commissioners for the five-member panel of the NRA, as two of its current commissioners will step down in September. One of the new commissioners, Satoru Tanaka, has proven controversial. A professor of nuclear engineering at Tokyo University, Tanaka is generally regarded as pro-nuclear, remarking eight months after the nuclear disaster that it could be safe to reconsider returning to nuclear energy. He has also, according to Reuters, accepted roughly $100,000 over the last 10 years from nuclear power companies and related sources (including Tepco Memorial Foundation, affiliated with the energy company responsible for the Fukushima Daiichi plant), a fact that has prompted the anti-nuclear lobby to question his ability to be objective. Industry analysts interviewed by Reuters maintained that most experts in Tanaka’s field would receive this type of funding, given the close relationship between Japanese academia and energy companies.

Tanaka will be filling one of the spots left vacant by Kazuhiko Shimazaki, who has been outspoken in his opposition to returning Japan to nuclear dependence. Shimazaki has been criticized for saying two reactors sit upon active fault lines, and effectively stopping the restart of a reactor with vigorous safety demands. He has yet to comment on his retirement, although some NRA officials had hoped he would remain.

With Japan’s nuclear power companies struggling to remain profitable with all of the country’s 48 reactors offline, two of them are pushing for their safety inspections with the NRA to either be implemented or finalized as soon as possible. Kansai Electric Power Co. (Kepco) said it might restart its reactors at its Oi power plant if it receives a positive safety inspection, despite losing a Fukui District Court ruling on the matter. Two reactors at Kyushu Electric’s Sendai plant, shortlisted by the NRA for safety checks, could come back online in a few months. Additionally, Tohoku Electric Power Co. is seeking inspections for reactors at two separate power plants. It has requested a safety screening at its No. 2 reactor at the Onagawa power plant in Miyagi Prefecture, and at the No. 1 reactor at its Higashidori plant in Aomori Prefecture, both located in the northeast of Japan’s main island of Honshu. Tohoku Electric has built a 3-meter-high seawall on a location 13 meters above sea level at the Higashidori location in hopes of restarting in March of 2016, yet the screening is unlikely to start while the presence of active fault lines beneath the reactor is being investigated, according to Jiji Press.

As the government and nuclear power companies attempt to quickly restart the country’s nuclear program, Tepco shareholders are requesting copies of interviews conducted by the Cabinet Secretariat in the hopes of investigated the cause of the Fukushima accident. According to the Asahi Shimbun, they are prepared to file a lawsuit against the government if their request is denied. The shareholders want access to interviews with 772 people in order to assess if there was a collapse in leadership following the disaster.

Meanwhile, cleanup efforts at the Fukushima Daiichi No. 1 reactor continue to flounder. Tepco’s advanced liquid processing system (ALPS), designed to reduce the levels of radioactive substances in the water used to cool the damaged reactor, only has one of three main channels in operation. The other two channels are offline until later this month after cloudy water was detected, caused by radiation exposure that had deteriorated packing gaps in the channels.

The government may be able to increase the tempo of nuclear reactor inspections, and possibly restarts, after the two new commissioners join the NRA this September. Both the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and nuclear energy companies are adamant that this happen, yet for different reasons. Abe is intent on driving down energy imports that are hurting Japan’s trade balance due to the weak yen. Japan’s energy companies are becoming desperate to restart reactors that could increase profits, especially before the energy market is scheduled to be deregulated in 2016 and they face stiffer competition. At the same time, Japanese consumers face a difficult choice between escalating energy prices and living with the uncertainty of another environmental disaster. The level of tension between the public, government, and energy industry will continue to dictate the pace of nuclear restarts. However, the return to a convergence of government policy with the interests of nuclear power companies will accelerate the process. ”

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Court rules against starting 2 Ohi reactors — ABC News, NHK World

ABC News:

” A court Wednesday refused to let two nuclear reactors restart operations in western Japan, saying their risk assessment is too optimistic and safety measures insufficient despite lessons from the Fukushima disaster.

The denial by the district court in Japan’s nuclear hub of Fukui is the first since the crisis and comes as some Japanese reactors are in the final stages of safety screening before a restart, and plaintiffs and their anti-nuclear supporters say the court ruling could sway local acceptance.

Anti-nuclear sentiment and the public’s distrust to utility operators and authorities have persisted since the 2011 meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, which caused more than 100,000 people to leave homes nearby due to radiation.

All 50 workable reactors have been idle for repairs or safety checks since then, except for the two Ohi reactors, No. 3 and No. 4, which temporarily resumed operation in 2012-2013 as an exception decided by the government to curb a summertime power crunch. Eighteen of the 50 reactors have applied for safety checks to qualify for a restart.

Nearly 200 people who live near the Ohi plant sued its operator in November 2012, and the court ordered it not to restart the two reactors. Kansai Electric Power Co. said it will appeal Wednesday’s ruling. Technically, it can operate the reactors if they pass the safety standard while the case is pending.

Judge Hideaki Higuchi said the quake estimates for the reactors are too optimistic and the emergency safety measures and backups to secure the key cooling systems remain insufficient. The triple meltdowns at Fukushima were caused by the failures of the reactors’ cooling systems after external power and backup generators were destroyed by the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami.

Yuichi Kaido, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, told a news conference he hoped the “sensible” court ruling would boost a phase-out of nuclear power in Japan. About 30 lawsuits against nuclear plants and utilities are pending nationwide, NHK public television reported.

Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka said the ruling doesn’t affect ongoing safety checks.

“We make a decision whether a reactor meets the current standard solely based on science and technology. After that, a decision is not ours,” Tanaka said, meaning the startup is a government decision.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the government stands by its policy to start up all reactors that cleared the regulatory standards: “I believe it is appropriate to restart reactors after objective safety judgment under the safety standard that we believe is the world’s toughest.”

At Fukushima Dai-ichi, its operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. began releasing groundwater pumped from the plant’s least contaminated areas into the ocean, keeping the water separate from more-toxic water that the operator is struggling to store.

The 560 tons of groundwater had been deemed clean enough to release to the ocean without treatment. The bypass system is key to how water is managed at the plant as the volume of contaminated water continues to grow. … ”

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Aileen Mioko Smith on the Japanese reactor restarts — Corbett Report Interview

” The Japanese Nuclear Regulatory Agency is currently considering applications from eight different utilities companies to restart 17 of the nation’s 54 nuclear reactors, which have been taken offline in the wake of the Fukushima crisis. Today we talk to Aileen Mioko Smith of Green Action Japan about the anti-nuclear movement in Japan and their efforts to stop the reactor restarts from happening. ”

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Ohi nuclear plant operator tightens safety — NHK World

” The operator of the Ohi nuclear power plant in central Japan has submitted to regulators a revised estimate for tremors from potential earthquakes at the plant.

Kansai Electric Power Company was aiming at an early restart of the off-line plant. But the revision concerning the possible impact of a quake would require additional reinforcement. This could take time.

The revision was demanded by the country’s Nuclear Regulation Authority in its safety screening, a precondition for the plant’s restart.

The utility on Wednesday revised the depth of the potential epicenter of a nearby quake from 4 kilometers to 3 kilometers. This means a stronger tremor would shake the plant.

NRA Commissioner Kunihiko Shimazaki approved of Kansai Electric Power’s decision, calling it a safer path.

The revision would require the operator to spend significant time strengthening the plant’s facilities. The utility will be facing a summer without nuclear power for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi disaster as another plant also needs to clear similar hurdle.

The Ohi plant was allowed to operate for 14 months through September last year as an exceptional case to cover Osaka and surrounding areas’ demand for electricity after the Fukushima Diichi disaster.

The plant is one of the first 6 nuclear power plants to apply for the tightened safety screening last July. ”

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Japan halts last nuclear reactor — NHK World

” The only nuclear reactor in Japan that was generating electricity was halted on early Monday morning.

Kansai Electric Power Company is the operator of Ohi nuclear power plant in central Japan. It began lowering the output of the Number 4 reactor on Sunday evening.

The reactor stopped generating electricity Sunday night and was halted at about 1:30 AM on Monday Japan time. This means all 50 of the country’s reactors have ceased operation for the first time in 14 months.

After the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011, all reactors in the country went offline for safety inspections. Two reactors at the Ohi plant restarted operation last year.

Ohi’s Number 4 reactor was the only one running in Japan after another reactor at the same plant stopped generating power earlier this month for regular checks.

Electric power companies have asked the Nuclear Regulation Authority for approval to restart 12 reactors at 6 power plants, including the Ohi power plant.

The regulators began safety assessments from July in a process they say will take about 6 months.

Local municipalities must also give their approval before reactors can be restarted.

None of the reactors are likely to resume operations in the near future. ”

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