Japan has restarted 14 reactors since 2011 Fukushima disaster
Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) has completed loading all 872 fuel assemblies into the core of Unit 6 at its Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power station in Niigata prefecture, western Japan, ahead of a planned restart.
The company began loading the fuel on 10 June and completed the task on 21 June, a statement said.
Tepco, which owns and operates the station, received permission from the Nuclear Regulation Authority in 2017 to restart Units 6 and 7, both 1,315-MW boiling water reactor units. The company announced in April 2024 that it had completed loading fuel into Unit 7.
Additional regulatory inspections will be needed before Units 6 and 7 – which have been offline since March 2012 and August 2011 respectively – can resume operation.
Kashiwazaki Kariwa is one of the world’s largest nuclear power stations. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, its seven boiling water reactor units have a combined net capacity of 7,965 MW.
Kashiwazaki Kariwa served as an important energy source to supply electricity to the Tokyo metropolitan area before the 2011 earthquake and nuclear accident at Fukushima-Daiichi.
Tepco wants to bring the station back online and said in 2020 it was concentrating its resources on restarting the newer Units 6 and 7, which originally began commercial operation in 1996 and 1997.
In March a Tepco official told NucNet that restart preparations for Unit 7 had been completed and a final decision on restarting the plant would be made once had “gained the understanding of the local community”.
Before the Fukushima disaster Japan’s fleet of 54 nuclear plants generated about 30% of the country’s electricity, but were all shut down for safety checks following the accident.
Among the 33 operable nuclear reactors in Japan, 14 have now resumed operations after meeting post-Fukushima safety standards. The restarted plants are: Sendai-1 and -2, Genkai-3 and -4, Ikata-3, Mihama-3, Ohi-3 and -4, Onagawa-2, Shimane-2 and Takahama-1, -2, -3 and -4.
