3 Oct (NucNet): Japan’s Electric Power Development Company Limited (J-Power) has announced that it plans to resume the construction of its Ohma nuclear power plant in Aomori prefecture, northern Japan.
Work on the Ohma nuclear power plant, which J-Power said was around 40 percent complete, was suspended following the Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March 2011 that resulted in the nuclear accident at Fukushima-Daiichi.
It was only when the government announced its new energy strategy in mid-September that the future options for these units became clear.
The strategy calls for reduced dependence on nuclear energy by the 2030s, based on three pillars: a limit of 40 years on nuclear power plant operation, allowing the resumption of operation of nuclear power plants once safety is ascertained, and not building any new nuclear power plants. Under the policy, it appears that nuclear power stations that have already started construction will be able to operate for the full 40-year period, which could be well into the 2050s.
J-Power said that it has obtained the necessary permits and authorisations and has been proceeding with plans for the restart of construction at Ohma. It also stressed its commitment to safety.
“We are determined to do whatever we can to establish a safe electric power plant through ensuring that we implement reinforced safety measures that take into consideration the accident at the Fukushima-Daiichi plant.”
J-Power said that it has not yet set a date for the start of Ohma’s operation, adding that it intends to review the matter in future based on construction progress.
Work started on the Ohma plant, a 1,325-megawatt advanced boiling water reactor (ABWR) design, in May 2008. Originally due to start up in 2012, J-Power amended its scheduled start date to November 2014 towards the end of 2008.
The unit will be the first in Japan to run on a full mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel core. J-Power said the basic specifications of the full MOX-ABWR at Ohma are the same as other ABWRs.
Meanwhile, Chugoku Electric Power Company, which owns the Shimane nuclear plant, said in its 2012 annual report that it is “striving to have its unit 3 at Shimane – which is currently under construction – enter operation “at an early date so that we will have a more balanced power source configuration.”
