This will be the first time since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in 2011 that the units have resumed operation
The City Council of Takahama, located in the western prefecture of Fukui in Japan, has positively decided to restart the first and second reactors of the Takahama NPP, which were built over 40 years ago. This was announced by Kyodo on Wednesday.
This will be the first time since the Fukushima Daiichi accident in 2011, if the units are actually restarted. Because of this, the country’s authorities have tightened requirements for the operation of nuclear facilities, especially those built over 40 years ago. They need to undergo stricter inspections. The maximum service life can be extended to 60 years from construction.
The restart will not take place until the spring of 2021, the agency notes.
The first and second reactors at Takahama with a capacity of 826 MW each were put into operation in 1974 and 1975 respectively. The plant includes two more reactors that were built 10 years later. They were shut down after the Fukushima-1 accident and restarted in 2017. They are now out of operation again due to anti-terrorism security checks.
Before Fukushima-1, nuclear power accounted for about 30% of Japan’s energy mix. As a result of temporary forced abandonment, the main burden of energy supply to the country lay with thermal power plants. Currently, only one Genkai reactor in Japan produces energy, while the rest of the facilities are being tested for safety. However, the government expects to continue its policy of partially restarting the nuclear power plant in the near future.