Latest news with #HokkaidoElectric
NHK
30-07-2025
- Business
- NHK
Tomari plant's No.3 reactor in northern Japan passes screening for restart
A reactor of the Tomari nuclear power plant in northern Japan has passed regulatory screening, which is a prerequisite for its restart. The Tomari plant is located in Hokkaido Prefecture and operated by Hokkaido Electric Power Company. Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority in April compiled a draft screening report on the plant's No.3 reactor under the new regulations drawn up after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. It then sought public opinions. At an NRA meeting on Wednesday, officials reported they received 143 opinions. One of them says a survey on active faults in the seabed may have been insufficient. The NRA concluded that safety measures by Hokkaido Electric are all satisfactory, and it unanimously approved the screening report. The Tomari No.3 unit is the 18th reactor that has passed the screening. It took a record 12 years for the reactor to clear the review since the utility applied for it. That is partly because of a survey on active faults under the plant's site. Hokkaido Electric will proceed with safety measures that meet the new regulations, including construction of seawalls. The company says it wants to restart the reactor as early as possible in 2027.
Japan Times
30-07-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Hokkaido's Tomari nuclear reactor passes safety screening
The Nuclear Regulation Authority on Wednesday approved a safety screening report that the No. 3 reactor at the Tomari nuclear power plant in Hokkaido meets the country's safety standards. The reactor at Hokkaido Electric Power's plant is the first in Japan that has won such approval since the No. 2 reactor at the Shimane power plant of Chugoku Electric Power, which passed a safety screening in 2021, and the 18th reactor since the current safety standards were adopted. The Tomari No. 3 reactor, the newest in Japan, started operation in 2009. The authority screened the reactor for an unusually long period of 12 years as it took time for Hokkaido Electric to explain its measures to deal with possible earthquakes and tsunamis. The company, however, is still in litigation with local residents as it has appealed a court order not to operate the plant issued in 2022. It is uncertain whether the company can restart the reactor in 2027 as planned, given that it needs to obtain agreements from local governments. Hokkaido Electric applied for the safety screening on the day the current safety standards took effect in July 2013. The company has raised the maximum seismic ground motion assumed in its quake resistance design from 550 gals to 693 gals and the assumed maximum tsunami height from 7.3 meters to 17.8 meters. The company is building a seawall 19 meters tall with plans to complete it by around March 2027. It has also presented plans to build a new port in the north of the plant and establish a new transportation route dedicated to nuclear fuel, in view of the possibility that a nuclear fuel transportation ship may collide with the seawall due to tsunamis. Hokkaido Electric estimates that the reactor's safety measures will cost at least ¥515 billion ($3.47 billion). It aims to restart the plant's remaining two reactors in the first half of the 2030s.
30-07-2025
- Business
Japan's Tomari N-Reactor Passes Safety Screening
News from Japan Society Jul 30, 2025 13:39 (JST) Tokyo, July 30 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority on Wednesday approved a safety screening report that the No. 3 reactor at the Tomari nuclear power plant in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido meets the country's safety standards. The reactor at Hokkaido Electric Power Co.'s plant is the first in Japan that has won such approval since the No. 2 reactor at the Shimane power plant of Chugoku Electric Power Co., which passed a safety screening in 2021, and the 18th reactor since the current safety standards were adopted. The Tomari No. 3 reactor, the newest in Japan, started operation in 2009. The authority screened the reactor for an unusually long period of 12 years as it took time for Hokkaido Electric to explain its measures to deal with possible earthquakes and tsunamis. The company, however, is still in litigation with local residents as it has appealed a court order not to operate the plant issued in 2022. It is uncertain whether the company can restart the reactor in 2027 as planned, given that it needs to obtain agreements from local governments. Hokkaido Electric applied for the safety screening on the day the current safety standards took effect in July 2013. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Yomiuri Shimbun
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Hopes Rise for Hokkaido N-reactor Restart after Clearing Major Safety Hurdle; Power Company Still Needs Approval from Residents
Yomiuri Shimbun file photo Tomari nuclear power plant in Tomari, Hokkaido Almost 12 years after applying for a safety screening, the No. 3 reactor at Hokkaido Electric Power Co. Inc.'s Tomari nuclear power plant has effectively been given the green light to resume operations by Japan's nuclear safety watchdog. The Nuclear Regulation Authority approved a draft report on Wednesday that concluded the reactor had met safety standards introduced after the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The reactor was shut down in May 2012, more than a year after the Great East Japan Earthquake triggered the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 plant. One reason for the Tomari reactor's protracted screening process was a shortage of Hokkaido Electric employees with expertise in geology and natural disasters such as earthquakes. Consequently, the company spent a lot of time and effort crafting detailed explanations based on scientific evidence. In 2019, the NRA pointed out that it 'could not rule out' the possibility that a fault under the Tomari nuclear plant was active. Hokkaido Electric, which was forced to conduct further investigations into the matter, struggled to accumulate data on volcanic ash and other factors needed as evidence. It ultimately took about two years until the NRA finally accepted the fault in question was not active. In 2020, then NRA chief Toyoshi Fuketa even expressed his concerns to the company's senior management. 'Unless you have staff with the necessary expertise, I don't think this screening will get completed,' Fuketa said. The NRA introduced new regulatory standards for nuclear power reactors in 2013 as a result of the 2011 nuclear accident. A high degree of expertise is required to ensure these requirements are met. After this was pointed out by the NRA, Hokkaido Electric accepted external specialists and also hired new recruits. The company initially had about 60 staff handling the screening procedures, but this was increased and peaked at about 220. The NRA also extended a helping hand at times. At each screening meeting since March 2022, the watchdog presented written documents outlining discussion items and its questions. This made it easier for Hokkaido Electric to respond to these issues. 'This was highly unusual, given the NRA's position that responsibility for demonstrating safety rests with the company,' said Nagaoka University of Technology Prof. Hiroshi Yamagata, an expert on safety engineering. Cost soars As the screening dragged on, Hokkaido Electric finished most of the new construction that was required to meet the safety standards. To prevent hydrogen explosions like those that occurred at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, equipment that can recombine leaked hydrogen with oxygen to form water has been fitted inside the reactor's containment vessel. Multiple power-supply vehicles have also been stationed on higher ground as a precaution for emergency situations such as power outages caused by a tsunami. The construction of a 19-meter-high seawall is the main safety measure yet to be completed at the Tomari nuclear plant. Hokkaido Electric estimated the maximum height of tsunami that might strike the plant would be 15.68 meters and began constructing the seawall last year. As a safeguard against the possibility that a tsunami could spill over this wall, the company installed doors and other such safety measures that will prevent seawater from flooding the reactor building. The total construction cost of these safety measures has climbed to about ¥510 billion, which is at least 17 times more expensive than the ¥20 billion to ¥30 billion that was initially estimated in 2011. 'These costs snowballed as a result of steadily dealing with each step of the construction and screening process,' a Hokkaido Electric official told The Yomiuri Shimbun. Local consent needed Hokkaido Electric is preparing to restart the Tomari No. 3 reactor in early 2027, a move prompted in part by the need to recoup some of the massive construction costs. If the NRA officially declares the reactor has passed the safety screening, focus will shift to whether the company can gain the consent of local authorities. Hokkaido Gov. Naomichi Suzuki, who assumed the post in 2019, also has avoided making any clear-cut statements on the issue. 'The process is still ongoing,' Suzuki said to reporters after the NRA approved the draft report on Wednesday. 'At this stage, I can't comment with any preconceived notions.' At a press conference on the day, Hokkaido Electric President Susumu Saito emphasized that the company would work closely with local authorities. 'We will diligently explain the safety steps we've taken so we can gain wide support from Hokkaido residents, especially from those living in the area where the nuclear plant stands,' Saito said.
Yomiuri Shimbun
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
‘Approval' of Tomari nuclear power plant: Early restart will support industry
A stable supply of inexpensive electricity is important not only for household finances but also from the perspective of industrial competitiveness. The restart of nuclear power plants that have been shut down in various locations should be expedited. The Nuclear Regulation Authority has acknowledged that the No. 3 reactor of the Tomari nuclear power plant, which is operated by Hokkaido Electric Power Co., has effectively passed the NRA's safety screening. The power company aims to restart the reactor in 2027, and it is expected to significantly improve the region's power supply capacity. The Tomari plant had supplied about 40% of the electricity consumed in Hokkaido, but it was shut down in May 2012 following the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Currently, Hokkaido relies on thermal power generation for about 80% of its electricity, creating an unbalanced power structure. Hokkaido Electric has reinforced its facilities, including with the use of emergency generators and pump trucks, in order to comply with new regulatory standards established after the accident. A 19-meter-high seawall is also under construction. It is hoped that every possible measure will be taken to ensure safety. Hokkaido's electricity demand was once expected to continue to fall due to the declining population and advances in energy-saving technologies. However, in recent years, there have been a series of plans to build semiconductor factories and data centers, and there are now concerns that there will be a power shortage. Rapidus Corp., a domestic manufacturer of cutting-edge semiconductors, will begin mass production at its factory in Chitose, Hokkaido, in 2027. SoftBank Corp. will build a new data center in Tomakomai in the prefecture. Given these increases in demand, the restart of the Tomari plant, including the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors, which are currently undergoing safety screenings, is essential. In July 2013, Hokkaido Electric applied for the safety screening to restart the Tomari plant shortly after it was shut down. However, the screening was prolonged due to uncertainty over the existence of active faults on the site, resulting in it taking nearly 12 years. During that time, the 2018 Hokkaido earthquake, which hit the prefecture's eastern Iburi region, caused a large thermal power plant to shut down, resulting in a power outage across the entire prefecture. Russia's aggression against Ukraine has led to a global surge in prices of liquefied natural gas, which is used as fuel for thermal power generation. Electricity rates tend to be cheaper in areas where nuclear power plants have already resumed operations, creating a disparity with areas where operations have not resumed. If the Tomari plant resumes operations, electricity rates are likely to decrease in the future. Restarting nuclear power plants will reduce carbon dioxide emissions and help combat global warming. Furthermore, it will meet the security demands for securing energy needed domestically. In the case of the Tomari plant, the screening process took a long time. While preventing serious accidents is obviously important, the disadvantages of keeping nuclear power plants shut down are also significant. Improving the efficiency of safety screenings and shortening the screening period are also important issues. (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 1, 2025)
