Sendai (Kagoshima Pref.) reactors get priority

March 13, 2014

Nuclear watchdog puts two Kyushu reactors on shortlist for restart screening

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201403130014 

REUTERS

The government's nuclear watchdog put two reactors on a shortlist for a final round of safety checks on March 13, moving a step closer to reviving the country's nuclear industry, three years after the Fukushima disaster that led to the shutdown of all plants.

Two days after the third anniversary of the meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the Nuclear Regulation Authority placed two reactors operated by Kyushu Electric Power Co. on a list for priority screening at a meeting of officials reviewing restart applications.

No timing for a potential restart was decided at the meeting and the next stage of checks incorporates a period of public hearings, which may be a fraught process given widespread skepticism about a return to nuclear power.

Kyushu Electric's Sendai reactors in Satsuma-sendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, are located about 980 kilometers southwest of Tokyo.

The utility is one of the most reliant of Japan's regional electricity monopolies that provide nuclear power, supplying about a third of Japan's energy needs before the Fukushima disaster.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a strong supporter of nuclear power, finalized a mid-term energy plan last month, which embraces nuclear energy and calls for the restart of reactors deemed safe by regulators, overturning the previous administration's plan to eventually mothball all reactors.

Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima No. 1 plant suffered a triple meltdown after an earthquake and tsunami that left at least 15,000 dead, sending a massive radioactive plume into the air and ocean.

In the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986, thousands were forced to flee their homes and much of the area around the Fukushima plant, about 220 km north of Tokyo, remains a no-go zone due to high levels of radiation.

Cleaning up Fukushima is expected to take decades and cost at least 11 trillion yen ($108 billion).

The disaster led to the eventual shutdown of all reactors, forcing utilities to spend billions of dollars on expensive fossil fuels to generate electricity.

Sendai nuclear plant screening prioritized

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140313_18.html 

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority says it will prioritize the safety screening process for the Sendai nuclear plant in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan. The country's 48 commercial reactors, now off-line, have to pass the screening before they can be reactivated.

Thursday's announcement means that the Number 1 and 2 reactors at the plant will likely be the first in Japan to clear the screening and resume commercial operation. Kyushu Electric Power Company is the operator of the units.

The authority discussed whether procedures should be speeded up for any of the six plants in the advanced stages of the safety review. Ten nuclear plants in Japan are currently being screened.

Prioritization requires confirmation of the maximum levels of tremors and tsunami expected from possible earthquakes.

The chairman of the authority, Shunichi Tanaka, told a meeting on Wednesday that major safety issues have mostly been resolved.

Authority officials expressed satisfaction with the Sendai plant operator's efforts.

Authority chairman Tanaka declared that they will begin preparations to wrap up the screening process.

The authority will report on the results of the safety review process, and give permission for a restart after listening to experts' views and holding public hearings in the prefecture.

Kyushu Electric hopes to resume operation of the Sendai plant before demand for power surges in the summer.
But the utility will still have to clear on-site inspections and persuade local residents.

Mar. 13, 2014 - Updated 03:09 UTC

Sendai nuclear plant emerges as leading candidate to restart

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140313p2g00m0dm032000c.html 

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Nuclear regulators on Thursday decided to prioritize the safety review of two reactors at Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Sendai plant in southwestern Japan, making them potentially the closest to being allowed to restart among Japan's 48 offline commercial reactors.

Currently, a total of 17 reactors at 10 nuclear power plants are subject to inspections to determine whether they satisfy a set of new safety requirements introduced in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster.

But the Nuclear Regulation Authority has decided to narrow down the number of reactors it will place priority on so that the organization can efficiently finish its first safety checkup process based on the new regulations.

During a meeting Thursday, commissioners agreed that the Nos. 1 and 2 reactors at the Sendai plant in Kagoshima Prefecture are qualified to move on to the final stage of the review process.

"I understand that the Nos. 1 and 2 units at the Sendai plant have cleared major agendas (in regard to the assessment of earthquake and tsunami that could affect the plant), while others have not yet," Chairman Shunichi Tanaka told the meeting.

Toyoshi Fuketa, a commissioner in charge of checking the safety of facilities and countermeasures against severe nuclear accidents, also said he is satisfied so far with Kyushu Electric Power's approach toward serious accidents.

Under procedures agreed earlier, the NRA staff is expected to start devoting efforts to crafting a draft assessment report of the basic policies on the reactors' design and accident response. The document will serve as a certificate showing the inspected reactors have cleared the screening.

After compiling the draft, the NRA plans to solicit public opinion from scientific and technical viewpoints over a period of about four weeks.

Kyushu Electric Power wants to restart the plant by summer, when electricity demand increases. But it is not clear when the reactors will actually restart, as the NRA will need time to fully finish the checkups, while the utility will have to secure local consent before actually moving to reactivate the reactors.

The two reactors at the Sendai plant were operating when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami hit eastern Japan in March 2011, triggering the Fukushima crisis, but they have been shut down for mandatory regular checkups since September the same year.

Kyushu Electric Power applied for the NRA's safety checks of the two reactors in July 2013, saying the maximum possible seismic ground motion that could affect the plant's important facilities is 540 gals.

During the safety review process, however, the utility decided to raise the estimate to 620 gals. It also revised upward the size of tsunami that could hit the plant to about 5 meters above sea level.

None of Japan's 48 reactors are allowed to reactivate unless they satisfy the new regulations, which for the first time oblige utilities to put in place specific countermeasures against severe accidents like reactor core meltdowns, as well as against huge tsunami -- the direct cause of the Fukushima crisis.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has reiterated that his government will push for the restart of reactors that have satisfied what it calls the world's toughest nuclear regulations, but a majority of the public is believed to be against such moves.