The Japanese power company Chugoku Electric Power has restarted the 789 MW Unit 2 of the Shimane nuclear power plant located in western Japan, which had been shut down since 2012 following the Fukushima accident and aims to resume commercial operations in early January 2025, which will boost the current number of operational reactors in Japan to 14. The reactor was originally due to restart in August 2024 and resume commercial operations in September 2024, but the operator pushed back the restart due to required safety upgrade work.
The nuclear plant, located near the city of Matsue in south-western Japan, comprises a total of three units. Unit 1 (439 MW) was commissioned in 1974 and decommissioned in 2015, while the second unit, commissioned in 1989, was mothballed in January 2012. A 1,325 MW third unit is currently under construction (since 2005).
In 2023, the Japanese parliament enacted a law to allow nuclear reactors in Japan to operate beyond their current limit of 60 years, in order to help cut greenhouse gas emissions and ensure a sufficient energy supply. Japan’s reliance on nuclear power was reduced following the Fukushima accident, dropping from 25% of the power mix in 2010 to 1% in 2015, and back to 9% in 2023. Before the accident, there were 54 reactors spread over 17 power plants (49 GW in 2010 against 33 GW in 2023).
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