The governor of Japan’s Fukui prefecture is about to authorize the restart of the reactors of two nuclear power plants in the prefecture, which have been in operation for more than 40 years. This was reported on Tuesday, April 27, by the Mainity newspaper.
The Mihama NPP, as well as the first and second reactors of the Takahama NPP, are planning to restart. Due to the accident at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant, the Japanese authorities have tightened requirements for nuclear facilities, especially those built over 40 years ago. They need to go through a tougher inspection. In this case, the maximum service life can be extended up to 60 years from the date of construction.
Before the accident at Fukushima-1, nuclear power accounted for about 30% of Japan’s energy balance. Due to the temporary forced abandonment of the facility, the main load on the country’s energy supply fell on thermal power plants.
Currently, the country operates two reactors at the Genkai nuclear power plant and one more at the Sendai nuclear power plant. Other objects are checked for safety. At the same time, the Japanese government expects to continue the policy of partial restart of nuclear power plants in the near future.
The accident at the Japanese nuclear power plant “Fukushima-1” occurred in March 2011. Then, as a result of the impact of the tsunami at the station, the cooling and power supply systems were out of order.
On April 13, 2021, the Japanese government officially authorized the discharge of a significant portion of the water from Fukushima-1 into the ocean, which is said to have been largely radioactive.