The Japanese power utility Chugoku Electric Power has announced that it will restart Unit 2 of the Shimane nuclear power plant in early December 2024, and that the unit will resume commercial operations in January 2025. The 789 MW reactor was originally due to restart in August 2024 and resume commercial operations in September, 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 after the 2011 Fukushima accident. 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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