Local N-plants
GENKAI
Aging Genkai nuclear reactor may have faulty vessel: study
SAGA (Kyodo) — A nuclear power reactor unit which began operations 36 years ago at Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Genkai plant may have a faulty pressure vessel, an analysis by researchers showed Saturday.
The possibility of a fault in the process of manufacturing a critical unit encasing nuclear fuel assemblies at the seaside plant’s No. 1 reactor casts doubt over the credibility of previous inspections of nuclear reactors, the analysis led by Hiromitsu Ino indicated.
Ino, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, and other experts in metal materials, performed a close analysis of test data used to determine the degradation levels of steel used for the pressure vessel.
The analysis of the data, which were disclosed by the utility only in July, showed that disparities exist in the quality of steel used for the vessel, pointing to the possibility that there was a mistake in its manufacturing process, Ino said.
The No. 1 unit of the Genkai plant in Saga Prefecture, southwestern Japan, began operating in 1975.
“The technique used in manufacturing reactors in the 1970s was immature,” Ino said. “It’s possible that a faulty manufacturing process existed, and the pressure vessel’s durability is questionable.”
Ino said the No.1 reactor, which is currently operating, should be suspended until its safety is confirmed.
Of the four reactors at the seaside plant, the Nos. 2 and 3 reactors have been suspended for regular maintenance.
Kyodo, July 24, 2011
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20110724p2g00m0dm073000c.html
Errors in Genkai plant report threaten to delay restart of nuclear reactors
Japan’s nuclear regulatory agency said July 22 that it had discovered errors in Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s report on safety assessments of the No. 3 reactor at its Genkai plant.
Following the discovery, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) ordered other utilities and related firms to conduct safety assessments on all nuclear reactors and on nuclear facilities across the country.
The errors were found in a final report Kyushu Electric submitted in 2009, which was connected with its safety assessment on whether the No. 3 reactor at its Genkai plant could withstand a powerful earthquake, NISA said. The report listed the weight of a roof of a condensate storage tank above the reactor building as 260 metric tons. But in fact, the figure should have been 2,600 tons. In addition, constants showing the relationship between the foundation of an auxiliary reactor building and the ground were double the correct figures in two places of the report. The errors were put into the report by Obayashi Corp., which was commissioned by a Kyushu Electric subsidiary.
The final report said the quake-related safety of key buildings, equipment, piping and other parts of the reactor had been “secured.” It also put the seismic assessment as “good.”
After the errors were discovered, Kyushu Electric said the wrong data would not affect quake-related safety of the reactor because its new analysis showed the margin of difference was only about 1 percent. The data had been scheduled to be used for “stress tests” that the government has decided to conduct on nuclear power plants.
An interim report that Kyushu Electric submitted in 2008 also contained the errors, but NISA did not notice them and put its assessment of the data as “reasonable.” The errors were found when the Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization rechecked the data.
Commenting on why it took two years to find the errors, Yoshinori Moriyama, a NISA official, said, “It took time to assess active faults and other information.”
The announcement on the errors was made shortly after NISA ordered 12 utilities and other related firms to conduct stress tests on July 20. NISA has reprimanded Kyushu Electric over the errors and told the utility to submit a reassessment by the end of October. It has also called for re-evaluation of data on other facilities prepared by Obayashi Corp. In addition, it has instructed other utilities and related firms to conduct reassessments of all other nuclear facilities and report them by Aug. 22.
According to NISA, Obayashi Corp. conducted data analysis on at least eight other nuclear reactors run by three utilities. Stress tests on the No. 3 reactor at the Genkai plant will be conducted sometime after November at the earliest. Stress tests on other nuclear reactors will also likely be delayed.
Mainichi Shimbun , July 23, 2011
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20110723p2a00m0na017000c.html
Errors in nuclear plant data highlight checking system insufficiencies
The discovery of errors in data incorporated in a report on the No. 3 reactor at the Genkai Nuclear Power Plant in Saga Prefecture illustrates problems with its operator’s checking system and the government regulator’s ability to examine safety data.
Ironically, the errors came to light on July 6, the very day Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced that the government would conduct “stress tests” on all nuclear reactors across the country.
The errors will adversely affect the operations of all nuclear power stations across the country, casting a damper on the planned stress tests from the outset.
“I’m deeply sorry. I take it seriously that the mistake has been pointed out,” Kyushu Electric Power Co. Vice President Haruyoshi Yamamoto said July 22 as he visited top officials of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA).
The errors have dealt another serious blow to the utility, which is already under fire for urging employees and subsidiaries to pose as members of the general public and send e-mail comments to a TV program on the power station in favor of reactivating reactors stopped for regular inspections.
A division director-level official with NISA attributes the errors to carelessness on the part of Kyushu Electric workers. However, the safety of containment and pressure vessels and other key devices in nuclear reactors is evaluated based on data on reactor buildings, and no mistakes involving such data can be permitted.
The discovery of the errors has forced the utility to redo the calculation of the quake resistance of reactor buildings at the Genkai power station. It has also prompted NISA to instruct power suppliers to examine the data on all of their nuclear power plants out of fear that such mistakes could occur at any power station.
In addition, the finding has highlighted problems involving NISA’s system to examine data on the safety of nuclear reactors. Two years passed before the errors were found in the report, which Kyushu Electric Power had submitted in 2009. Moreover, the errors were discovered by a semi-governmental organization which NISA had commissioned to re-examine the report, and not NISA itself.
Goshi Hosono, state minister for the nuclear crisis, is aiming to separate NISA from its parent body, the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, which is promoting nuclear power generation in Japan. However, structural changes alone are insufficient. Whether NISA can function as a nuclear safety regulator will be severely tested.
Takuji Nakanishi, Mainichi Shimbun, July 23, 2011
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110723p2a00m0na015000c.html
KANSAI
Kansai Electric halts reactor for regular checkups
Kansai Electric Power Co. halted a reactor for regular checkups early Friday in Fukui Prefecture, and is poised to similarly suspend another later in the day to leave only 16 of the nation’s 54 reactors running, adding to its power supply problems.
The utility serving western Japan shut down the No. 4 reactor at its Takahama nuclear plant after halting its commercial operations Thursday night, and will do the same for the No. 4 reactor at its Oi plant in the same prefecture during the day.
It has already asked households and firms in its service area to cut power consumption by 15 percent from July 1, in view of power supply constraints amid difficulties in restarting inspected reactors in the wake of the nuclear crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Daiichi plant.
TSURUGA, Japan, July 22, Kyodo
http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/07/104335.html
Nuclear reactor in Fukui Pref. halted over glitch
FUKUI (Kyodo) — A reactor at Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture has been halted due to a problem with its cooling system and an investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the glitch, prefectural government officials and the plant’s operator said Saturday.
The government’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said the problem with the No. 1 reactor at the plant will not have an adverse effect on the environment. The reactor has been undergoing adjustment procedures prior to commercial operations for an unusually long period of around four months.
According to the agency and Kansai Electric, the pressure inside the accumulator in the reactor’s emergency core cooling system temporarily fell around 10:45 p.m. Friday, setting off an alarm. The accumulator holds coolant to be injected into the reactor in an emergency. The pressure has stabilized since, but the utility began reducing the power of the reactor at 1 p.m. Saturday and halted it after 8:50 p.m. to determine what caused the problem.
A company official said there is a possibility that nitrogen leaked from a valve of one of four accumulators located inside the reactor’s containment vessel, leading to the reduction in pressure.
The trouble prompted Kansai Electric to postpone applying for government permission for resuming the reactor’s commercial operations, stoking concern about possible electricity shortages in the Kansai region during the peak summer season.
A senior official at the prefectural government suggested that the suspension of the troubled reactor could last a long time.
“The safety of the reactor must be confirmed under new safety standards that take into consideration the Fukushima No. 1 accident,” the official said, referring to the ongoing crisis at the nuclear complex in the northeastern region that has been crippled since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
The shutdown of the reactor at the Oi plant left in operation only 18 of the 54 reactors in the country that are run by utilities.
If there are further delays in resuming reactors that are currently shut down, all of the reactors in the country could be shut down by April as Japanese law stipulates that nuclear reactors must undergo regular checks after 13 months of operation.
Utilities are facing difficulties in restarting reactors after regular checks because they are unable to secure approval from local municipalities amid worries about safety and they have to pass new stricter safety standards imposed after the nuclear crisis.
Kansai Electric President Makoto Yagi issued a statement, saying, “We will make utmost efforts to secure additional supply capacity to prevent a situation that leads to a blackout.”
The utility has asked customers, both households and businesses, in its service area in western Japan to reduce power consumption by 15 percent between July 1 and Sept. 22. Industry sources said Kansai Electric could seek further power saving due to the problem at the Oi plant.
The utility has secured the right to receive up to 350,000 kilowatts of electricity from Chugoku Electric Power Co. in the event that an electricity shortage occurs during the period from Saturday to July 31, and the company is in negotiations to receive support in August as well.
The Oi plant’s No. 1 unit was halted last December for regular checks and resumed operation in March for adjustment procedures prior to a restart of commercial operations, originally scheduled for April.
The reactor operated at near full capacity for much of the adjustment phase, including at the time the accident occurred Friday night.
Kyodo, July 17, 2011
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2011/07/17/20110717p2g00m0dm011000c.html
SHIMANE
Operation halted for inspection of boiler problem at Shimane thermal plant
HIROSHIMA – Chugoku Electric Power Co. said Monday it halted operation of a thermal power plant in Shimane Prefecture earlier in the day to check on a problem with its boiler.
The utility said the move will not interrupt the power supply in its service area for the time being and the company will continue the arrangement to provide electricity to Kansai Electric Power Co.
Chugoku Electric has been offering power supply to Kansai Electric, which serves the Kinki region and parts of central Japan, as the latter’s power demand and supply situation has been stretched.
Kyodo, July 19, 2011
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110719a5.html
Stress plans and restart
Restart schedule for idled nuclear reactors still in limbo
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency’s draft plan for two-stage stress tests on Japan’s nuclear reactors does not state how long the first stage of the assessments will take, making it impossible to predict when currently idled reactors can be restarted.
The government agency simply said timing for the restart of reactors idled for regular inspections or shut down in the aftermath of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant depends on the investigative reports to be submitted by nuclear plant operators. Furthermore, Prime Minister Naoto Kan and three Cabinet members will decide whether to allow any of the idled reactors to be restarted.
According to the nuclear agency, 19 nuclear reactors, including the No. 3 reactor at the Genkai Nuclear Power Plant operated by Kyushu Electric Power Co., will be subjected to first-stage tests. Second-stage tests will be conducted on 50 reactors including those subject to the first-stage tests as well as those under construction, but excluding those at the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 nuclear power plants and the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant.
Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO) relies on nuclear power for nearly half of its power output, and four of its 11 nuclear reactors remain out of operation due to regular checks. The Osaka-based utility is almost ready to restart them, prompting the nuclear agency to say the idled reactors can undergo first-stage stress tests at an early date.
KEPCO says it wants to appropriately and swiftly deal with the issue before restarting the reactors due to the unpredictable electricity supply and demand situation within its service area after August.
Shikoku Electric Power Co. was forced to abandon plans to reactivate the No. 3 reactor at its Ikata Nuclear Power Plant in Ehime Prefecture after failing to win approval from local authorities and residents. It says it wants to submit an inspection report to the nuclear agency as soon as possible.
The nuclear agency will scrutinize utilities’ reports for the first stage of nuclear plant safety assessments and the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan will confirm the reports.
The inspection reports, however, are not simply a rubber-stamp process for the reactivation of nuclear reactors. Kan says he, the minister of economy, trade and industry, the minister in charge of nuclear accidents and the chief Cabinet secretary will make the final decision in each case, taking safety concerns, the sentiments of local authorities and residents and other factors into consideration.
There is a possibility that power shortages may continue after this summer. If the nuclear reactors currently idled remain so, under the regime of regular inspections all of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors will be out of operation by the end of March 2012.
Kan says there is enough electricity for this summer and winter, but the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is studying contingency measures to deal with a possible tight power supply situation.
Mainichi Shimbun , July 16, 2011
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2011/07/16/20110716p2a00m0na013000c.html
Stress tests on reactors to look at four disaster scenarios
Nuclear power companies will be required to prove their reactors’ ability to withstand four disaster scenarios under new “stress tests” outlined by Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA).
The tests, detailed in a report submitted by NISA to the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan (NSC) on July 15, will require power companies to model their nuclear power stations’ endurance in a major earthquake, a tsunami, a complete loss of power throughout a plant, and a loss of ability to release heat from the reactors.
Computer modeling will be used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the plants, and the results will be analyzed by NISA and verified by the NSC.
Electric power companies will be required to conduct all the assessments and submit reports by the end of this year, but verification by the central government is not likely to be finished before 2012. It is unclear whether the test results will be enough to reassure local governments near the reactors.
There will be two distinct phases of testing. The first phase will be conducted on nuclear reactors that have been suspended for regular inspections but are ready for restarts as of the end of July.
That testing will be less rigorous than the second phase and will only look at key equipment in the reactors. The administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan has said that the first-phase tests will be a precondition for the restart of nuclear reactors.
Nineteen reactors are currently suspended for regular inspections, but only about 10 reactors that were not directly affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake are expected to be subjected immediately to the first-phase tests.
Kan and three other ministers will make the final decisions on whether to authorize restarts. The NISA report did not give a timeline for the completion of the assessments.
The second-phase assessments will be targeted at all reactors under construction and all 44 existing nuclear reactors in Japan except the Fukushima No. 1 and Fukushima No. 2 nuclear plants.
The safety of the whole of the reactors, not just the key equipment covered by the first-phase tests, will be assessed and the stresses that would put the reactors into a dangerous condition will be identified. The electric power companies will be required to submit reports on the second-phase assessments by the end of the year.
NISA will issue further instructions on the tests to power companies by the end of July.
BY TATSUYUKI KOBORI, Asahi Shimbun, July 17, 2011
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201107160323.html
Effects of decades of irradiation...
Brittleness factor of aging reactors key restart criterion: Decades of intense irradiation, heat skews cooling equation
In the world of nuclear reactor science and safety, the ductile-brittle
transition temperature, which is used to measure the strength of the
inner wall of a reactor pressure vessel, is a critical factor.
The steel walls of a reactor vessel wear out through years of direct
exposure to neutron irradiation, and when they are weakened they can
become brittle with sudden temperature drops.
A high DBTT means the walls can shatter at a relatively high
temperature when the vessel is going through the cooling process,
similar to pouring ice-cold water into a hot glass, causing it to shatter.
Even though the government is mulling new stress-test standards and
when to give the green light to reboot nuclear power plants across
Japan, some experts warn that aged reactors and their high DBTTs should
be considered key factors when assessing safety levels.
And when it comes to the brittleness factor, the one causing the most
concern is reactor 1 at Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Genkai nuclear
plant in Saga Prefecture.
It has a DBTT of 98 degrees, the experts say.
The reactor "exceeded the ductile-brittle transition temperature of 81
degrees Celsius of the No. 1 nuclear reactor in Mihama (Fukui
Prefecture)," Hiromitsu Ino, a University of Tokyo professor in metal
physics, wrote in a thesis submitted in February to Citizen’s Nuclear
Information Center, a nonprofit organization.
In terms of age, the Mihama nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture run by
Kansai Electric Power Co. is older than unit 1 at Genkai.
The DBTT figure for reactor 1 at Genkai indicates that any attempt to
cool it in an emergency would have to be conducted near at temperatures
near boiling point.
“It can be considered the most dangerous reactor in Japan,” Ito continued.
Genkai, with four reactors, is near the northwestern tip of Kyushu and
is “surrounded by beautiful sea and grandeur of nature,” as its website
says. Reactor 1 is the oldest of the four, having begun producing
electricity in 1975.
Reactors 1 and 4 are in operation, while 2 was shut down for routine
checks in December, as was reactor 3 in January.
The plant drew recent media attention when it looked likely that
reactors 2 and 3 would get the OK to restart, the first to do so since
the March 11 quake and tsunami caused three reactor meltdowns at Tokyo
Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
But Prime Minister Naoto Kan abruptly stepped in and declared that all
reactors nationwide would need to undergo stress tests to ensure their
safety before they can be restarted.
The Genkai reboot bid fell through.
According to Kyushu Electric Power, reactor 1’s DBTT has been soaring
in recent years Å\ from 35 degrees in 1976 to 56 degrees in 1993 and
then to 98 degrees in 2009.
"There are so many things to do even before conducting a stress test at
Genkai," Kobe University professor Katsuhiko Ishibashi said last week
regarding the threat.
Ishibashi, who decades ago coined the term “genpatsu-shinsai”
(nuclear-quake disaster) has been active in warning of the dangers of
operating nuclear plants in earthquake-prone Japan for decades.
In a gathering in Tokyo, he said the level of metal fatigue is
alarmingly high.
"No one, not even (industry minister Banri) Kaieda, can truly say the
Genkai nuclear power plant is safe and ready for operation," he warned.
Regarding the extremely high DBTT of reactor 1, Kyushu Electric has
acknowledged it is “above the expected level” but claims "safety is
secured," based on test samples deliberately taken from a spot with
high exposure to radiation and that the actual reactor vessel has an
80-degree DBTT.
Kyushu Electric also added that even if the unit continued to operate
for approximately two more decades, the DBTT would only go as high as
91 degrees, 2 degrees lower than the standard required for any newly
built reactors.
“At this point cooling off the vessel does not pose any threat,” the
utility said, adding DBTT shouldn’t be taken as a definite temperature
that will cause metal to fracture.
Kyushu Electric also stresses that a 4.9-meter-high tsunami induced by
an 8.1-magnitude quake Å\ considered the largest possible temblor Å\ in
the surrounding sea won’t damage the nuclear plant because it is
located well above sea level.
Such a temblor would hit the power plant with a level of acceleration
of 120 gal, but that is still far below the 540 gal that reactor 1 is
designed to withstand, the utility said.
Kobe University’s Ishibashi said optimistic speculation can end up
inducing grave consequences, as was the case in Fukushima.
For one, the seismology expert pointed out that Kyushu Electric’s
earthquake and tsunami assumptions are "too low, to the point that it
should be considered criminal.“”The utility needs to calculate the possibility of a large-scale
tsunami and losing all electricity power" and then figure out if having
a weakened nuclear reactor that can’t sustain sudden cooling is still
safe under such circumstances, he insisted.
The tsunami that knocked out the Fukushima nuclear plant is believed to
have been at least 14 meters, and well above Tepco’s estimates.
Historic records show that the region not far from Genkai was hit with
major earthquakes above magnitude 7.0 in 679, 1700 and 2005, Ishibashi
added.
"I wouldn’t be surprised if a major earthquake hit the area around the
nuclear power plant," Kobe University’s Ishibashi said, reiterating
that combined with the high DBTT, the consequences can exceed the
damage caused in Fukushima.
By JUN HONGO, Japan Times Staff writer, July 20, 2011
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110720f1.html
Struggles
Nuclear foe who won now ’I told you so’ hero
Toshinobu Hatsui’s protest over construction of a nuclear plant split
friends and families in his hometown. After the biggest atomic accident
in 25 years, resentment has turned to gratitude.
"Those of us who opposed the plant can finally be proud of what we
did," said Hatsui, a 62-year-old fisherman, recalling the anger among
nuclear supporters in Hidaka, Wakayama Prefecture, who missed out on an
economic windfall when the town rejected the plant in the 1970s. "Since
the accident, people called to express their relief that it wasn’t built."
Opinion polls show more Japanese agree with Hatsui in demanding a
future less reliant on atomic power, a pillar of energy policy for five
decades.
Getting what they want may depend on Prime Minister Naoto Kan surviving
the backlash from the “nuclear village” of politicians, bureaucrats and
power utilities that promoted the industry’s rise, academics including
Jeff Kingston said.
"Japan’s nuclear village is worried and they’re extremely
well-connected," said Kingston, head of Temple University’s Asian
studies program at its Tokyo campus. "They’re out to get Kan and it’s
not because he’s that incompetent. What worries them is that he’s been
making provocative statements that trample on very powerful toes."
It’s an unfamiliar challenge for the nuclear industry, which before the
March 11 Fukushima disaster provided about 30 percent of the nation’s
electricity. The national energy policy called for that percentage to
rise to 53 percent by 2030.
After the magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami knocked out cooling
systems at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 plant and caused
three reactors to melt down, Kan said plans to build 14 new reactors by
2030 should be abandoned.
He wants to pass a bill to promote renewable energy and questioned
whether private companies should be running atomic plants.
"When we consider the risk of nuclear energy, I’ve come to strongly
feel that this is a technology that cannot be controlled by our
conventional thinking of securing safety," Kan told reporters last
week. "We should reduce nuclear dependency in a planned, step-by-step
manner. We should eventually create a society where we can do without
atomic energy."
Other plans include separating the nuclear regulatory agency from the
industry’s chief promoter, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry,
and ending the monopoly that utilities have over power production and
transmission.
"All these things hit at the heart of the nuclear village and they’re
not going down without a fight,“said Kingston, who also edited”Tsunami: Japan’s Post-Fukushima Future," a collection of essays.
Nuclear power was a key policy of the Liberal Democratic Party, which
governed with almost no interruption for 55 years until 2009.
Close ties with the government meant opposition was mostly confined to
leftwing parties and the rural towns where utilities chose to build
their plants.
All that changed when radiation began leaking from Tepco’s stricken
nuclear plant in March, forcing more than 160,000 people to evacuate to
shelters.
"Policymakers face a stark choice between continued devotion to nuclear
power, with all the attendant costs and risks, and a more sustainable
future," said Andrew DeWit, a professor of politics and public finance
at Rikkyo University in Tokyo. "The nuclear village is unraveling, and
Kan realizes it because he doesn’t have ties to that base."
Kan, the first prime minister in five who isn’t descended from past
predecessors, has a track record of taking on the establishment.
As health minister in 1996, he forced bureaucrats to release documents
exposing their role in allowing as many as 5,000 people to contract HIV
through contaminated blood products.
While opinion polls show support for his stance on nuclear power,
public backing for Kan has slumped on criticism about how his
administration has dealt with the crisis.
He survived a no-confidence vote June 2, though only after appeasing
critics by saying he would step down once the crisis is contained.
About 77 percent of the public supports the “gradual abolition” of
nuclear power, the Asahi Shimbun said July 12, up 3 percent from June,
citing its own polls.
The fight over the energy future is dividing some of the country’s
biggest companies into separate camps, DeWit said.
Nuclear power is "the only way to secure a stable supply of
environmentally clean electricity at a relatively low cost," Shosuke
Mori, chairman of Kansai Electric Power Co., the nation’s
second-biggest power producer, said in an interview last month.
Softbank Corp. Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son countered with
plans to invest about \80 billion to build 10 solar farms if he gets
access to transmission networks and agreement from the 10 regional
utilities to buy his electricity.
"A framework should be designed to make the power business open to
anyone who has the will to start it," Son said at a government panel
meeting June 12.
Hiroshi Mikitani, president of Japan’s biggest online retailer, Rakuten
Inc., quit the main business lobby Keidanren in protest over the
group’s support for the energy status quo.
Towns that agree to host nuclear power plants benefit from public works
spending and jobs. The town of Oi, Fukui Prefecture, was saved from
bankruptcy in the 1970s when Kansai Electric Power built a plant there,
creating 2,400 jobs, Mayor Shinobu Tokioka said in an interview last month.
In contrast, there is little extra revenue for towns that host
power-generating windmills, according to Masao Hatanaka, mayor of Yura,
a town neighboring Hidaka.
“There’s not much advantage” to hosting the wind farms, he said. "They
don’t provide employment, as the maintenance is handled by two people."
Osaka Gas Co., which operates a 10-megawatt unit wind power plant in
Wakayama, said a feed-in tariff like the one Kan has proposed would
stimulate investment.
The tariffs guarantee renewable energy producers a higher price for
their electricity.
For the 7,800 residents of Hidaka, the debate over nuclear power was
decided during the 1970s and 1980s.
Support for the plan faltered after the Three Mile Island accident in
Pennsylvania undermined safety claims, Hatsui the fisherman said.
A sign next to the main road promotes it as a "nuclear-free, peaceful
town.“”If these plants were safe, they would have built them near population
centers,“Hatsui said.”We’re not sure what is the best alternative,
but we know that we don’t want nuclear power."
By STUART BIGGS and KANOKO MATSUYAMA, Bloomberg, July 20, 2011
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110720n2.htmls
Minister vows to keep Japan’s 25% carbon cut pledge despite disaster
WASHINGTON – Environment Minister Satsuki Eda vowed Wednesday to maintain Japan’s pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020, despite the uncertainty hanging over the future of nuclear power amid the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 atomic plant.
The pledge, made in 2009 by then Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, has been increasingly called into question because it was based on the premise of building more reactors and increasing the utilization rate of existing ones, neither of which now seems very likely.
On the future of the Kyoto Protocol, which commits Japan and other developed countries to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Eda stuck to the country’s opposition of assuming new obligations under the existing framework by setting the “second commitment period.”
The 1997 protocol obliges nearly 40 developed countries to reduce their emissions over a five-year period through the end of 2012 by an average of 5.2 percent from 1990 levels.
The devastation from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent nuclear crisis “certainly don’t mean we can destroy the global environment,” Eda said in an interview. “Japan’s international responsibility hasn’t changed.”
Eda, who assumed the ministerial post in late June in a minor Cabinet reshuffle and who also doubles as justice minister, said that in light of the multiple disasters, “There are growing calls among the people for reviewing” the country’s energy policy in favor of renewable energy.
A recent Kyodo survey showed that the public now overwhelmingly supports renewable energy, such as solar power and wind, as the energy source the country should focus on. Nuclear power was among the least favored.
Offering small hydropower generation units used in creeks as one option, his ministry should promote ways to find the country’s best energy mix, Eda said. “It is now time we thought about what kinds of efforts we should make to achieve the (25 percent reduction) goal at any cost.”
As negotiators struggle to seek an international framework for curbing global warming beyond 2012, Eda said setting a new round of reduction commitments under the Kyoto pact merely to avoid creating a gap period without any legally binding agreement “would not lead to preventing global warming in the end.”
Japan opposes setting the second commitment period on the grounds that it will perpetuate a framework that does not include China and the United States, the world’s top two carbon dioxide emitters. The United States has never ratified the protocol.
Tokyo instead advocates creating a single new framework that binds all the major carbon dioxide emitters, but hope has all but faded for a new binding pact to be reached at a U.N. climate conference in Durban, South Africa, later this year.
Saying there is still time before negotiators gather for that meet, Eda said, “Japan will take the initiative for the true benefit of Earth and continue to do its best.”
Kyodo, July 22, 2011
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110722a6.html
Budget request aims to fix nuclear crisis, freeze nuclear expansion
The Japan Atomic Energy Commission on July 19 urged the government to set aside funds for decommissioning the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, bolster nuclear safety and support the health of people exposed to radiation in its fiscal 2012 budget proposals.
Reflecting the ongoing nuclear crisis, the commission’s report showed less support for advancing Japan’s nuclear fuel cycle policy and played down the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor project.
The commission said fiscal 2012 spending for the nation’s nuclear fuel cycle should be diverted to repair and maintenance of existing technology.
That was in sharp contrast to the commission’s recommendations a year ago, when it urged that 14 new reactors be built by 2030 and full operation of Monju pursued.
The cost of upkeep alone for the trouble-plagued Monju reactor is estimated at 20 billion yen ($253 million) annually.
The country’s nuclear energy policy is certain to undergo review due to the serious accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. The government spends more than 400 billion yen on nuclear power each year.
About 455.6 billion yen was set aside for the nuclear power program for this fiscal year, an increase of 23.3 billion yen from fiscal 2010.
The Japan Atomic Energy Commission formulates guidelines on spending on nuclear power projects for government ministries and agencies.
Its fiscal 2012 proposals include earmarking funds for mid- and long-term measures toward decommissioning the hobbled reactors at Fukushima No. 1, for stepping up safety precautions at other nuclear facilities, for managing the long-term health of people exposed to radiation and for the release of information to the international community.
Nuclear waste disposal is an essential, ongoing task that remains crucial, regardless of changes in national nuclear power policy, the commission said.
The commission is expected to draw up basic proposals by the end of 2012 for future nuclear research and development.
BY TATSUYUKI KOBORI, Asahi Shimbun Staff Writer, July 21, 2011
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201107200282.html
LDP’s nuke power advocacy stands, but renewables OK
The Liberal Democratic Party proposed Wednesday to keep the nation’s nuclear plants running while improving their safety, countering Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s recent pledge to gradually reduce the country’s reliance on atomic power.
The proposal is part of the main LDP platform on which it will campaign for the next Lower House election, which must be held by 2013. During its almost unbroken postwar rule until 2009, the party had been a main promoter and facilitator of nuclear power plants, and long blamed for costly pork-barrel projects.
“We have shown what kind of a future the LDP will create for Japan,” party chief Sadakazu Tanigaki told reporters, criticizing the policies of Kan’s party as “pork-barrel.”
Unlike Kan’s position, the largest party in opposition to his Democratic Party of Japan said renewable energy will not be able to replace nuclear power in the foreseeable future. The party did, however, emphasize renewables as a new pillar of national energy policy in light of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant crisis Å\ the country’s worst ever.
Kyodo, July 21, 2011
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110721a4.html
SON’S CLEAN ENERGY INITIATIVE: Son’s quest for sun, wind has nuclear interests wary
In late March, while engaging in volunteer work and making efforts to
restore telecommunications networks in the quake-stricken Tohoku
region, Softbank Corp. founder and Chairman Masayoshi Son met with
evacuees from the area surrounding the troubled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear
power plant.
Days later, he returned to Tokyo and declared pursuit of a new energy
policy, one emphasizing renewable sources, such as solar, wind and
thermal energy, was needed.
In April, Son announced he would personally donate \1 billion to
establish a foundation for that purpose.
The amount he’s committing, and the political support he has received
from local and national leaders, have sparked a national debate on the
future of nuclear power versus renewable, and put the atomic power
lobby on the defensive.
Why is a man whose business is telecommunications-related embracing
renewable energy?
Son’s experience in disaster relief in the aftermath of March 11
provided the immediate motive for his decision, but he said he had been
thinking about the pursuit of renewable energy sources for a few years.
The nation’s utilities, he said, operate as virtual monopolies,
especially Tokyo Electric Power Co., prompting him to probe why the
nation relies so heavily on nuclear power and gives so little thought
to renewable energies.
This was when he came to the realization that the pronuclear elements
in the government and utilities had a profound influence on the
nation’s economic, social and political structure.
Son made a name for himself when Softbank entered the
telecommunications business, helping to bring about the end of NTT
Corp.’s effective monopoly and triggering intense competition.
Is Son advocating that all nuclear plants be shut down until renewable
energy sources replace them?
No. During an April 20 appearance at a Lower House committee for
recovery and reconstruction, Son told Democratic Party of Japan
lawmakers that nuclear plants should be decommissioned when they’ve
been operating for 40 years, the maximum lifespan for most such
facilities, and then be replaced by new energy sources.
Three of Japan’s 54 commercial reactors have been operating for 40
years, and, by 2020, another 15 will be 40 years or older.
So what’s Son’s plan?
His goal is to encourage local governments to shift to renewable energy
sources and to provide land for mega-solar panels, wind turbines,
geothermal, small hydropower generators, and other renewable energy forms.
Investment would come from Son’s fund as well as other public and
private sources.
The key to success is participation by prefectures, which would share
the financial benefits of having solar and wind farms, and other
natural energy sources located on their land.
But the challenge is the scarcity of available and viable land.
Is it possible to build installations such as mega-solar panel farms,
which require abundant space?
Many prefectures have land that is currently either underutilized or
not being used at all.
For example, garbage landfills, land prefectures set aside for public
works projects that didn’t happen, and idle farmland the owners still
pay taxes for, could host solar panel farms. In addition, lagoons,
cliffs and salt flats could host wind turbines.
Son calculates that 1 hectare of unused farmland could be the site of
mega-solar panels providing 500 kw.
So what’s the ultimate goal?
Son hopes to raise the amount of electricity generated by renewables to
20 percent by 2020.
This would include 100 million kw of solar energy and 50 million kw of
other renewable energies.
In May, Prime Minister Naoto Kan set a similar goal, saying Japan would
increase the ratio of power generation using renewable natural energy
sources to 20 percent by the early 2020s.
Geothermal, in addition to solar and wind, Son believes, has great
potential for development, given that Japan has geothermal power
sources equivalent to 20 nuclear plants.
But aren’t renewables more expensive than fossil fuels and nuclear power?
According to the government’s 2010 Energy White Paper, the cost per
kilowatt hour was \49 for solar, \10 to \14 for wind, and \5 to \6 for
nuclear power.
However, the calculation for nuclear power does not include
reprocessing costs for nuclear fuel or insurance liability in the event
of accident damages that taxpayers would likely be obliged to bear in
some form. Tepco faces trillions of yen in damages and decades of
decontamination of soil, water, air and sea.
Son estimates that if these additional costs are included, the actual
cost of nuclear power per kilowatt hour rises to about the same cost as
wind power.
The question is really about what the cost structure of renewables
versus nuclear will look like in the future.
As it takes a minimum of 10 years to build a nuclear plant, and given
that the cost of solar power in other countries like the United States
continues to fall thanks to ever more efficient solar panels, Son is
betting that, by 2020, renewable energy technology will have developed
to the point where it is extremely cost-competitive on a per kilowatt
hour basis compared with nuclear power. And renewable energy would not
have the social and environmental problems of nuclear power.
How has Son’s plan been received?
The plan has drawn excitement and strong support from local
governments, environmentalists and businesses involved in renewable
technologies, as well as from Kan.
On the other hand, the plan has drawn a wary and cautious reaction from
the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the utilities, and the "nuclear
village" of pronuclear bureaucrats, academics and media.
As of early July, some 35 prefectural governors told Son they wanted to
participate in his plan, including the governors of Fukui and Fukushima
prefectures, home to nearly half of Japan’s 54 reactors.
On Wednesday, a new organization to discuss how to reach this goal will
be established, with Son as an integral player.
But the pronuclear METI and the utilities have voiced caution.
A METI committee looking at the issue said in April that its members
estimated the costs for renewable energy at between \15 and \20 per
kwh, well above the cost of nuclear, oil and natural gas.
Both Tepco and Kansai Electric Power Co. have said it is critical for
Japan to employ a strategy that offers the best energy mix, one that
offers a safe and stable electricity supply and does not burden
consumers or businesses with undue costs.
By ERIC JOHNSTON, Japan Times Staff writer, July 12, 2011
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110712i1.html