Newsletters
Japan on Wednesday restarted a reactor at the world’s largest nuclear power plant, marking the facility’s first return to operation since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, according to Kyodo News.
The No. 6 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture was brought online after a final inspection was completed and reported to regulators earlier in the day.
The 8.2-gigawatt Kashiwazaki-Kariwa facility, which has seven reactors, has remained idle since 2012 following the tsunami-triggered accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa uses the same type of boiling water reactors as Fukushima Daiichi and is operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).
The restart marks the first reactor brought back online by TEPCO since the 2011 accident.
The reactor restart was originally scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed after a last-minute alarm related to control rods malfunctioned during a test.
TEPCO later said the issue was resolved after a successful final inspection, allowing the reactor to resume operations on Wednesday.
When fully operational, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is the world’s largest nuclear power facility.
It remained offline for years due to public safety concerns and doubts over TEPCO’s ability to manage the complex following the Fukushima disaster.
The restart of the No. 6 reactor marks the 15th nuclear reactor to resume operations since 2011 among Japan’s 33 operable reactors, as the government seeks to increase the use of nuclear energy.
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
