Second reactor back online

15 Octobre 2015

October 15, 2015

2nd reactor at Sendai plant brought back online

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201510150020

By JUNICHIRO NAGASAKI/ Staff Writer

Kyushu Electric Power Co. restarted a second reactor at its Sendai nuclear power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture on Oct. 15, overriding persistent safety concerns among local residents.

At 10:30 a.m., Kyushu Electric Power workers lowered a lever in the plant's central control room to remove control rods in the No. 2 reactor to start the process of nuclear fission.

Kagoshima Governor Yuichiro Ito exhorted the utility to pay utmost attention to ensuring safety at the plant after the No. 2 reactor was restarted.

"Japan's nuclear policy will end should local residents be forced to evacuate in a grave accident," Ito said. "I think the Nuclear Regulation Authority screened the facility, fully aware of such a scenario, and the utility should share the same recognition in proceeding with reactivation."

Utility officials said the reactor is expected to reach a state of criticality, at which nuclear fission is self-sustaining, around 11 p.m.

The No. 2 reactor became the second to come back online in Japan under more rigid safety regulations implemented after the Fukushima nuclear crisis triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.

Despite protests by opponents of nuclear energy, the No. 1 reactor at the plant in Satsuma-Sendai city became the first to resume operations in August under the new regulations.

The No. 2 reactor was shut down for a periodic inspection in September 2011 and had remained idle ever since.

“We will continue to cooperate with the central government’s inspection procedures and proceed with operational procedures at the plant by putting utmost priority on securing its safety,” said Kyushu Electric Power President Michiaki Uriu in a statement released on Oct. 15.

Steam produced from the heat generated by the nuclear fission will drive a turbine to produce electricity. The generation and transmission of electricity is expected to begin on Oct. 21 after the utility completes an inspection of the turbine and other equipment.

The output will be raised gradually to start commercial operations in mid-November, the officials said.

The Sendai nuclear plant became the first nuclear facility in Japan in September last year to meet the new safety standards imposed by the NRA in July 2013.

Preparations for a restart are progressing at the No. 3 reactor of Shikoku Electric Power Co.’s Ikata nuclear power plant in Ehime Prefecture and at the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors of Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture.

Kyushu Electric Power is also seeking to reactivate the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at its Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture.

Sendai No.2 reactor is back online

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html

Oct. 15, 2015 - Updated 05:11 UTC+2

A nuclear reactor in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, has gone back online, the second such restart under tougher post-Fukushima regulations.

Kyushu Electric Power Company turned on the No.2 reactor at its Sendai plant on Thursday morning. Reactor 1 at the same plant went back online in August.

Plant workers began removing the reactor's 32 control rods at 10:30 AM. It is expected to take about 12 hours to achieve a sustained nuclear chain reaction.

The operator plans to start generating and transmitting electricity on Wednesday next week and resume commercial operation in mid-November.

The No.2 reactor has been offline for 4 years. It was shut down for regular inspections 6 months after the Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011.

In September last year, the Sendai nuclear plant became the first plant in Japan to clear the government's stricter safety regulations, introduced after Fukushima.

Kyushu Electric President Michiaki Uriu said his company will place top priority on safety as it carefully proceeds with the restart.

He said it will also strive to improve the safety of nuclear power plants and actively disclose information with a strong determination never to repeat Fukushima.

Second reactor restarted in Kyushu under tighter Fukushima-inspired rules

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/10/15/national/second-reactor-restarted-kyushu-tighter-fukushima-inspired-rules/#.Vh9emyvwmos

Kyodo

KAGOSHIMA – A nuclear reactor in Kagoshima Prefecture resumed operation Thursday, becoming the second unit to restart after the government tightened safety regulations following the 2011 triple reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 complex.

Kyushu Electric Power Co. said it reactivated reactor 2 at its Sendai complex in Kagoshima, about two months after unit 1 at the two-reactor plant began operating under what Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government calls “the world’s toughest” safety rules implemented after the Fukushima disaster started.

The first restart in August ended a nearly two-year hiatus in the country’s nuclear power generation, marking Japan’s return to nuclear energy production.

The government plans to have nuclear power account for 20 to 22 percent of the country’s total electricity supply in 2030, compared with roughly 30 percent before the disaster at the Fukushima complex, despite the majority of the public opposing the restart of nuclear plants.

The government sees nuclear power as necessary for the country to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to reduce climate change and wants to benefit from the relatively low production costs of nuclear power.

Kyushu Electric finished inserting a total of 157 fuel rod assemblies into reactor 2 last month and had been working on final inspections since last Friday.

The huge earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, triggered the worst nuclear crisis since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and led to the eventual shutdown of all of Japan’s commercial reactors by May 2012.

Two reactors were temporarily brought back online about two months later amid power shortage concerns, but they went offline for regular checks in September 2013, leaving Japan without nuclear power supply again.