Revised roadmap details plans for shipping spent nuclear fuel
The governor of Fukui prefecture in western Japan has effectively approved the continued operations of three aging nuclear reactors in the prefecture from next fiscal year.
Tatsuji Sugimoto approved Kansai Electric Power’s revised roadmap for shipping spent nuclear fuel from the Mihama-3, Takahama-1 and Takahama-2 nuclear plants.
Kansai Electric 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 around 50 years. According to International Atomic Energy Agency data, Mihama-3 began commercial operation in 1976, Takahama-1 in 1974 and Takahama-2 in 1975.
Press reports in Japan said Sugimoto had spoken with industry minister Yoji Muto online after meeting with Kansai Electric president Nozomu Mori at the prefectural office earlier this week.
Sugimoto urged Mori and Muto to “steadily implement” the roadmap and promote regional development in the municipalities where the nuclear reactors are located, the reports said
“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.”
Kansai Electric presented Fukui Prefecture with the revised roadmap in February, after Japan Nuclear Fuel delayed the completion of a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant under construction in the village of Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture.
Reports said that under the roadmap, about 400 tonnes of spent fuel will be shipped to a French company for use in research, while 198 tonnes will be transported to the reprocessing plant, which is expected to be completed in fiscal 2026.
Before the Fukushima disaster Japan’s fleet of 54 nuclear plants generated about 30% of the country’s electricity, but were all shut down for safety checks following the accident.
Among the 33 operable nuclear reactors in Japan, 12 have now resumed operations after meeting post-Fukushima safety standards. The restarted plants are: Sendai-1 and -2, Genkai-3 and -4, Ikata-3, Mihama-3, Ohi-3 and -4 and Takahama-1, -2, -3 and -4.
