The world's largest nuclear power plant is about to revive

Japan is about to restart production activities at the Kashiwazaki - Kariwa nuclear power plant after a long period of closure due to the impact of the Fukushima disaster.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) prepares to load fuel into the world's largest nuclear power plant Kashiwazaki - Kariwa. Shut down after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster, this is the first step to revive this giant power generation facility. The move took place a few months after Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) granted permission for the plant to re-operate. The NRA also allowed the plant to begin refueling again. Currently, TEPCO will add fuel rods to reactor No. 7, Interesting Engineering reported on April 15.

Kashiwazaki - Kariwa nuclear power plant viewed from above. (Photo: IAEA).

The Kashiwazaki - Kariwa power plant still has a number of hurdles to overcome before operations , including safety inspections and obtaining permits from local authorities. Previously, the facility had faced many problems when trying to resume operations in 2021 due to violating a series of safety regulations, including not adequately protecting nuclear materials. However, since then the problems have been resolved.

The Kashiwasaki - Kariwa nuclear power plant had a capacity of 8.2 GW before being decommissioned in 2012. The facility is located in Niigata prefecture of Japan, on a land area of ​​4.2 km2, first opened in 1985 and owns the world's first advanced boiling water reactor (ABWR). The plant has 7 reactors, of which 5 have a capacity of 1.1 GW. The remaining two furnaces can produce 1,365 MW of electricity. The nuclear power plant has experienced several partial and complete shutdowns during its operation due to technical difficulties and earthquakes in the region. However, after the Fukushima disaster, Kashiwasaki - Kariwa closed for a long time.

The plant's latest revival is part of Japan's ambition to restart reactors to ensure energy security for the entire country. This is also the country's effort to cut carbon emissions. Therefore, nuclear energy will allow Japan to be self-sufficient in electricity supply under limited resource conditions and import about 90% of its electricity consumption. For such reasons, Japan will change its nuclear energy policy stance at the end of 2022. The recent spike in the cost of some types of energy such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) also motivated Japan to regenerate. nuclear power production.

Next, TEPCO plans to transport the fuel assembly to reactor No. 7 on April 15. TEPCO said it plans to place 872 fuel assemblies from the plant's storage into the reactor. The process is relatively time-consuming and takes about 1.5 months to complete due to the need for thorough inspection to ensure the fuel rods are installed correctly. Testing is also necessary to ensure the core cooling system operates as designed. TEPCO will also increase the number of night staff from the current eight to 51.