2024-03-18 06:35:00
JAPAN'S NUCLEAR POWER RESTART
BLOOMBERG - Mar 15, 2024 - Japan’s government is ramping up an effort to secure local approval to resume operations at the world’s biggest nuclear power plant, according to a report, amid a wider push by the nation to restart its idled fleet of reactors.
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ken Saito will next week request Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi to endorse the restart of Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station, according to the Niigata Nippo newspaper. METI didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The governor’s approval is one of the last hurdles before the nuclear plant can resume.
Tepco stock surged as much as 11% on Friday to the highest since 2011. Restarting reactors at the plant will help Tepco reduce dependence on imports of costlier fossil fuels.
Resuming the facility would be a shot in the arm for Japan’s government, which is struggling to boost atomic generation in the face of strict regulations and patchy local support. The Nuclear Regulation Authority in December removed a de-facto ban on operations of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa that was put in place after a slew of serious security breaches.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency this week said that the organization would provide technical assistance for the plant, and send a team of experts to assist Tepco’s effort to gain public trust.
Kashiwazaki Kariwa, which has seven reactors totaling 8.2 gigawatts in capacity, is located about 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Tokyo. The nation’s regulator said in 2017 that reactor units 6 and 7 met post-Fukushima safety protocols.
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Earlier:
2024, February, 7, 06:45:00
RUSSIAN ARCTIC LNG FOR JAPAN
JOGMEC's fulfillment of the loan guarantee, however, does not mean the end of JARC's participation with a 10% stake in the Arctic LNG 2 project, a JOGMEC official said Feb. 5, adding that the relevant Japanese parties will carefully respond while ascertaining sanctions developments.
2023, November, 30, 06:35:00
JAPAN NEED LNG
Starting in December, Japan will begin operating "Strategic Buffer LNG," or SBL, cargoes in order to be prepared for any supply issues, starting with a minimum of one LNG cargo a month during the country's peak winter demand months over December 2023-February 2024, with JERA having been approved Nov. 24 as the first supplier.
2023, October, 6, 06:45:00
GLOBAL NUCLEAR EXTENSION
"Building on the collaboration in April in Sapporo, Japan, during the G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers meeting and Business Forum, we stand ready to work together with policymakers to rebuild leadership in nuclear energy within OECD countries and to cooperate with other like-minded nations as they seek to meet their climate and energy security goals."
2023, August, 4, 06:30:00
RUSSIAN LNG FOR JAPAN
Mitsui joined the Arctic LNG 2 project in 2019 via a subsidiary called Japan Arctic LNG, which secured substantial financial support from state-owned Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) as part of wider Japanese efforts to ensure stable LNG supply and diversify import sources.
2023, April, 28, 06:20:00
JAPAN FUSION STRATEGY
Japan has been a major contributor to International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), under construction in France, which aims for first plasma in 2035.
