Japan’s nuclear revival: shaken but not stirred by the Noto earthquake [Gas in Transition]

Japan’s nuclear revival: shaken but not stirred by the Noto earthquake [Gas in Transition]

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Natural Gas News
Japan’s nuclear revival: shaken but not stirred by the Noto earthquake [Gas in Transition]

Summary

The major earthquake and ensuing tsunami that struck western Japan on January 1 has had little immediate impact on the Japanese nuclear power sector. As nuclear continues its revival and more renewable energy capacity comes online, LNG demand looks set for gradual erosion. by: Martin Daniel

The rehabilitation of Japan’s nuclear industry has been developing slowly since 2011, but gathered significant pace in 2023. In September, the Kansai Electric Power Company restarted the 826-MW Takahama-2 pressurised water reactor (PWR). The neighbouring Takahama-1 reactor had restarted in July, while the third and fourth 870-MW PWR units at the Takahama complex resumed operation in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The Takahama-2 restart means that all seven of Kansai Electric’s potentially operable nuclear reactors are now generating. Overall, 12 reactors with 11,608 MW of gross capacity are now operational out of the country’s 33 potentially operable units, which together have 31,679 MW of capacity. The other restarted reactors include the Kyushu Electric Power Company’s Sendai-1 and 2 units, which, in November, were approved for operation for a f...