Latest news with #KansaiElectricPower
Japan Times
15 hours ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Construction of Tohoku nuclear-fuel reprocessing plant ongoing after 30 years
The completion of Japan Nuclear Fuel's nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in the village of Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, which has been postponed numerous times, could be achieved next year, the company has said. A public relations official at Japan Nuclear Fuel said the company is "now confident to a certain degree" that the plant for processing spent fuel from nuclear power stations will be completed in fiscal 2026. Japanese power companies have been forced to store spent fuel within the premises of their nuclear power plants due to a delay of more than 25 years in the construction of the reprocessing plant. At one of the facilities at the plant recently shown to the media, spent fuel is stored at the bottom of a 27-meter-long, 11m-wide and 12m-deep pool. The plant has capacity to store 3,000 metric tons of spent fuel, but roughly 99% is already filled. The plant is for extracting uranium and plutonium that can be reused from spent nuclear fuel. It was supposed to play a central role in the nuclear fuel cycle, which the government regards as the pivot of its energy policy. After construction began in 1993, the plant was originally scheduled to be completed in 1997. But the completion has been postponed as many as 27 times, and a safety review by the Nuclear Regulation Authority is still ongoing. Based on the expected completion of the reprocessing plant in fiscal 2026, Kansai Electric Power reviewed its earlier policy regarding shipments of spent fuel from its nuclear plants in Fukui Prefecture and submitted a new road map to the Fukui Prefectural Government in February this year. The following month, Fukui Gov. Tatsuji Sugimoto met with Kansai Electric President Nozomu Mori and gave the prefecture's green light to the new schedule, making it possible for the company to continue operating three nuclear reactors that are more than 40 years old as a result. The three are the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors at the Takahama nuclear plant and the No. 3 reactor at the Mihama plant. The reprocessing plant's completion in fiscal 2026 as planned is indispensable for the continued operation of the three Kansai Electric reactors. However, many are concerned about the possibility of further delays.
Free Malaysia Today
22-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Malaysia vows strong safeguards in Japan CO₂ storage deal
The natural resources and environmental sustainability ministry says any cross-border CO₂ storage arrangement would be strictly governed by bilateral or multilateral agreements. (Wikimedia Commons pic) KUALA LUMPUR : The government has pledged to enforce strict environmental and legal safeguards, amid reports of an agreement with Japan for liquefied carbon dioxide (CO₂) to be stored in offshore sites beginning as early as 2030. In a statement to FMT, the natural resources and environmental sustainability ministry said the government was committed to upholding the 'highest environmental and safety standards'. It stressed that all carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects would be subjected to rigorous environmental impact assessments (EIA), real-time monitoring and robust regulatory oversight. 'Long-term monitoring protocols will include seismic surveys, well integrity checks and the use of advanced technologies to detect any potential leaks,' the ministry said, adding that a dedicated legal framework was being developed to ensure environmental protection and accountability. The ministry's statement follows a report that Japan plans to export CO₂ for underground storage in Malaysia through a partnership involving Mitsui & Co., Kansai Electric Power, and state oil company Petronas. Nikkei Asia reported that the stored carbon from Japanese power plants and factories would be injected into depleted gas fields in Malaysian waters, with the Malaysian government expected to sign a memorandum of understanding with Japan by this year. The Japanese daily also reported that Japan was aiming to store up to 10 million tonnes of CO₂ annually in Malaysia as part of its goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Addressing concerns that Malaysia could become a dumping ground for foreign emissions, the ministry said any cross-border CO₂ storage arrangement would be governed strictly under bilateral or multilateral agreements. These will align with international standards and clearly define legal responsibilities, risk-sharing mechanisms and safeguards to prevent misuse, said the ministry. 'Malaysia's priority is to safeguard its national interest, environmental integrity and sovereignty,' the ministry stated. 'Malaysia will only accept carbon storage projects that are environmentally sound, economically beneficial and aligned with our national climate goals.' The ministry also said that storing CO₂ for another country would not affect Malaysia's own carbon budget or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) target under the Paris Agreement. 'Technically, receiving CO₂ from other countries, including Japan, does not affect Malaysia's NDC target,' the ministry said. 'However, if the storage site leaks in the future, then Malaysia will be responsible for it.'
Nikkei Asia
27-04-2025
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
Japan to ship CO2 emissions to Malaysia for storage underground
TOKYO -- Japan and Malaysia are closing in on an agreement to cooperate on the underground storage of carbon dioxide, Nikkei has learned, in a plan that would take the greenhouse gas produced in Japan and transport it in liquefied form to the Southeast Asian nation for storage, starting as early as 2030. Parties including trading house Mitsui & Co. and Japanese compatriot Kansai Electric Power are working on the project with state-run Malaysian oil company Petronas. The plan is to inject the gas into large offshore gas fields once they are depleted.
Japan Times
25-03-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Fukui's governor allows three aging reactors to continue operations
Fukui Gov. Tatsuji Sugimoto on Monday effectively gave the green light for the continued operations of three aging nuclear reactors in the prefecture from next fiscal year. Sugimoto approved Kansai Electric Power's revised roadmap for shipping spent nuclear fuel from the No. 3 reactor at the Mihama nuclear plant and the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors at the Takahama plant. The plant operator had said it would halt reactor operations if it failed to gain the prefecture's understanding for the roadmap by the end of the current fiscal year, which ends this month. All three reactors have been in operation for more than 40 years. On Monday, the Fukui governor spoke with industry minister Yoji Muto online after meeting with Kansai Electric President Nozomu Mori at the prefectural office earlier in the day. Sugimoto urged Mori and Muto to steadily implement the roadmap and promote regional development in the municipalities where the nuclear reactors are located. "It is my duty to steadily transport (spent nuclear fuel) out (of the nuclear plants) and reduce the amount stored" at the plants, Mori said. "I will continue to do all I can." The Kansai Electric president also mentioned plans for a new framework to continue providing funds for regional development. "The government will also work on this with responsibility," Muto said. Sugimoto then expressed his support for the roadmap, saying it is "effective." Kansai Electric presented Fukui Prefecture with the revised roadmap on Feb. 13, after Japan Nuclear Fuel delayed the completion of a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant under construction in the village of Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture. Under the roadmap, about 400 tons of spent fuel will be shipped to a French company for use in research, while 198 tons will be transported to the reprocessing plant, which is expected to be completed in fiscal 2026. The Fukui government heard the opinions of three towns hosting nuclear plants in the prefecture and the prefectural assembly before deciding to approve the roadmap. The mayors of the towns — Mihama, Oi and Takahama — expressed understanding for it, while the Liberal Democratic Party, the largest group in the assembly, left the decision to the governor. In the prefecture, however, there are persistent concerns that the roadmap could be derailed by another delay in the construction of the reprocessing plant, as its completion has been postponed 27 times so far.
Japan Times
09-02-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Kansai Electric to ship more spent nuclear fuel to France
Fukui – Kansai Electric Power is working to double the amount of spent nuclear fuel it will ship to France, increasing it by about 200 tons, informed sources said. The move comes as Fukui Prefecture, home to several nuclear plants, urges Kansai Electric to address shrinking storage capacity for spent nuclear fuel, the sources said. In 2023, Kansai Electric announced a plan to ship about 200 tons of the fuel from its Takahama plant in Fukui to France starting in fiscal 2027. Based on the Japanese government's policy, the spent fuel will be used for research on technology to reprocess uranium-plutonium mixed oxide, or MOX, fuel. At the Takahama plant, about 90% of the spent fuel storage capacity has already been used, and that amount is expected to reach the upper limit in about three years. About 200 tons of spent fuel will be generated if the No. 1 to No. 4 reactors at the plant are operated for about three years. Kansai Electric has restarted all of its seven nuclear reactors. The company initially planned to send spent fuel mainly to a reprocessing plant to be built in Aomori Prefecture, but the completion of the facility has been postponed. Last September, the company notified Fukui Gov. Tatsuji Sugimoto of its intention to review the plan, and said that it would halt three reactors in the prefecture if it fails to come up with a proposal that can win the understanding of officials there by the end of fiscal 2024.
