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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)
The Mainichi
30-04-2025
- Business
- The Mainichi
Hokkaido nuclear reactor clears Japan's safety review for restart
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The Nuclear Regulation Authority effectively endorsed on Wednesday the restart of a reactor at the sole nuclear power plant on Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido, approving a draft report that concluded the reactor had cleared its safety review. With semiconductor and data center businesses projected to boost the prefecture's electricity demand, Hokkaido Electric Power Co. plans to restart the Tomari plant's No. 3 unit, Japan's newest reactor, after completing the construction of a seawall by around March 2027, among other mandatory safety measures. After the company applied for the review in July 2013, the authority checked whether the utility's plan satisfies its new safety standards, enforced following the 2011 nuclear accident in Fukushima Prefecture triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami. The focus of the review included whether geologic faults on the premises of the power plant were active. The nuclear watchdog is still reviewing the safety of the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors. Hokkaido Electric has upgraded its quake-resistant design for the facilities to cope with more intense acceleration of seismic waves -- from up to 550 gals to 693 gals -- and raised the height of potential tsunami it can withstand from 7.3 meters to 17.8 meters. The utility had built a 16.5-meter-high seawall in 2014, but it will raise it to 19 meters based on the regulatory body's advice on the possibility of liquefaction of soil. The reactor will also be ready for an accumulation of volcanic ash to a depth of 40 centimeters. The cost of construction related to safety measures for the No. 3 reactor, which started operation in December 2009, has ballooned to about 515 billion yen ($3.6 billion) from over 90 billion yen for all three reactors. The Tomari power station began the operation of the No. 1 reactor in 1989 and the No. 2 unit in 1991, but all three reactors had halted by May 2012 under the stricter safety regulations implemented after the nuclear disaster. The Sapporo District Court ordered the Tomari nuclear power plant to remain offline in May 2022 due to safety concerns. The case is currently being heard at the Sapporo High Court.
30-04-2025
- Business
Japan NRA Gives Tomari N-Reactor De Facto Pass in Safety Screening
News from Japan Society Apr 30, 2025 16:27 (JST) Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority on Wednesday approved a draft screening report that found the No. 3 reactor at Hokkaido Electric Power Co.'s Tomari nuclear power plant to be in compliance with new safety standards. With the move, the NRA effectively confirmed that the reactor in the village of Tomari in the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido meets safety standards, which is a prerequisite for its restart. The report is expected to be formally adopted this summer following a period for public comments. In 2022, Sapporo District Court ordered an injunction against the operations of the reactor after a lawsuit filed by local residents, ruling that the reactor failed to meet safety standards for tsunami. Hearings on the appeal are ongoing. Hokkaido Electric aims to restart the reactor in 2027, after the completion of a seawall being built on the plant's premises. It remains to be seen, however, whether the reactor's operations will be resumed as envisaged because the company needs to obtain the consent of local governments in addition to dealing with the lawsuit. Hokkaido Electric applied for a screening on the first day that Japan's new safety standards took effect in July 2013. The review by the NRA took close to 12 years, due to the time needed for explanations by the company regarding measures against earthquakes and tsunamis. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Japan Times
30-04-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Japan approves first restart of a nuclear reactor in four years
Japan's atomic watchdog cleared the first nuclear restart since 2021, a shot in the arm for the government's effort to increase power generation from the energy source and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The Nuclear Regulation Authority on Wednesday approved a preliminary report saying Hokkaido Electric Power's Tomari No. 3 reactor meets post-Fukushima safety rules, according to a live stream of the hearing. Hokkaido Electric's president said in March that he expected the unit to restart in 2027. Although the government recently approved a new energy strategy to maximize the use of nuclear power, restarts of units shuttered following the 2011 Fukushima disaster have been slow. Fewer than half of Japan's 33 operable reactors have resumed due to lengthy regulatory checks and upgrades, as well as local opposition. After a public comment period, the regulator's report will be subject to formal approval. The Tomari reactor has been shut since 2012.
