Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC) has submitted an application to the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) for pre-use inspections of its 1,060 MW Tokai-2 nuclear reactor in the Ibaraki prefecture of Japan, which would be the final regulatory approval in the restart procedure.
The reactor is located in the Naka District, Ibaraki Prefecture, in the northern Kanto region of Japan (neighbouring the Fukushima Prefecture). It came onstream in November 1978 and suffered external power loss like in Fukushima during the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, but the reactors were safely cooled, preventing an additional major accident. The plant has been shut down since then.
The restart procedure was initiated in May 2014 and the NRA approved the safety measures submitted by JAPC in September 2018. The execution of safety countermeasures, which comprise a 1.7 km-long sea wall to protect the plant from a potential tsunami as high as 17.1 m, is taking longer than expected. Completion has been delayed from March 2021 to December 2022. The company applied in May 2017 for an extension to operate the plant beyond the 40-year limit and received approval in 2018, contingent on exacting safety requirements. JAPC will also need the approval of local municipalities in Ibaraki prefecture to restart the reactor.
Interested in Power Plants?
Enerdata has developed a market research service to screen, monitor and analyse the development of power generation assets.
Power Plant Tracker offers an interactive database and a powerful search engine covering power plants worldwide – including both installed and planned capacities for renewables and fossil fuels.