Tuesday October 29, 2024

The company announced that it restarted Unit 2 of the factory located in Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 29. “In the future, we will continue various inspections, tests and works in preparation for the resumption of operation of the plant (electricity production), which is expected to take place in early November 2024,” he said.

The Onagawa plant was the closest nuclear power plant to the epicenter of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, but it suffered far less damage than expected. The earthquake destroyed four of the plant’s five external power lines, but the remaining line provided enough power for its three boiling water reactors (BWRs) – the same type as those at the Fukushima Daiichi plant – to be shut down. cold. The plant was largely unaffected by the tsunami as it is located on an elevated embankment more than 14 meters above sea level, although the basements of Unit 2 were flooded.

Tohoku requested a safety assessment of Onagawa 2 from the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) in December 2013 to verify that countermeasures applied at the plant meet new safety standards. In February 2020, the NRA approved the final review report, paving the way for the unit to resume activity. Tohoku needed to complete countermeasure upgrades and obtain approval from local authorities before restarting the unit.

Tohuoku President and CEO Kojiro Higuchi said the company has prioritized safety as it proceeds with the restart. “We will continue to prioritize safety while carefully managing each process leading to the plant restarting for the first time in 13 years,” he said.

“The restart of Unit 2 of the Onagawa nuclear power plant will be the first restart of a boiling water reactor damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake. We believe that this will not only contribute to the reconstruction after the earthquake disaster, but will also be of great use. important to guarantee a stable supply of electricity and contribute to carbon neutrality.

“Additionally, we believe that understanding the local community is paramount when it comes to restarting operations, and we will continue to take every opportunity to thoroughly and clearly explain our efforts to the local community.

Tohoku is in the process of seeking permission to restart Onagawa Unit 3, but announced in October 2018 that Onagawa Unit 1 – the site’s oldest unit – would be decommissioned rather than upgraded.

Chugoku Electric Power’s Shimane 2 unit is set to become the second Japanese REB to restart. The company announced this week that it had begun loading fuel ahead of a planned restart in December.