TOKYO: A Japanese utility said on Tuesday (Jul 22) it was taking an initial step towards building the nation’s first new nuclear reactor since the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster more than a decade ago.
After the 2011 tsunami and meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Japan shut down all of its nuclear reactors, with the public voicing unease about the energy source.
But the government has continued to back nuclear power as a reliable and clean source of energy that Japan needs as it aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
And 14 years since the disaster, Japan has restarted many reactors, with the public’s concerns about nuclear power declining, according to opinion polls.
Utility Kansai Electric’s president Nozomu Mori said on Tuesday the company will conduct a geological survey to “evaluate the possibility to construct the successor plant to Mihama Nuclear Power Station”, resuming a project delayed by the 2011 disaster.
“As natural resources are limited in our country … it is important that nuclear power fulfils its role in the years to come,” he said during a televised press conference, adding that it was not clear when construction might start.
After the 2011 Fukushima meltdown, Kansai Electric suspended a geological survey needed for a plan to replace one of the three Mihama reactors.
In 2015, the operator retired two of the Mihama reactors that had operated for more than 50 years.
The third reactor still runs today despite having operated for nearly 50 years.
Local media said a new reactor could cost 1 trillion yen (US$6.8 billion) and may take 20 years before it becomes operational.
Like the government, major businesses have backed nuclear power, as Japan will need more electricity to run artificial intelligence and data centres in the future.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/japan-new-nuclear-reactor-fukushima-disaster-kansai-electric-mihama-5251216
