Japan's Chugoku Elec restarts Shimane reactor for first time in 13 years

Chugoku Electric Power Co

07/12/2024 06:11

TOKYO, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Japan's Chugoku Electric Power
 9504.T  on Saturday restarted its Shimane nuclear power station
in western Japan, shuttered since shortly after the 2011
Fukushima meltdown, the company said.
    The long-delayed restart of the 820 plant's megawatt (MW)
No. 2 reactor, which was shut down in January 2012, boosts the
number of Japan's operational reactors to 14, with a combined
capacity of 13,253 MW.
    Japan's demand for liquefied natural gas and thermal coal is
expected to fall next year, with Tohoku Electric Power  9506.T 
also recently resuming operations of the 825 MW No. 2 reactor at
its Onagawa nuclear power plant in northern Japan.
    The increased operation of nuclear power plants is expected
to help Japan meet the growing power demand from semiconductor
plants and data centres that support artificial intelligence
applications.
    The government anticipates power output to grow to between
1.35 trillion and 1.5 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) by 2050,
from 1 trillion kWh projected for this decade, as Japan
establishes more data centres, chip factories and other
energy-intensive businesses.
    For Chugoku Electric, the restart of the Shimane reactor,
halted months after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, follows a total
investment of 900 billion yen ($6 billion) in safety measures to
comply with stricter post-Fukushima regulations.
    The restart is projected to boost the utility's recurring
profit by 11 billion yen for the financial year ending March,
helped by reduced fuel costs resulting from lower spending on
fossil fuels, a company spokesperson said. 
    The benefit has been factored into the company's earnings
forecast, the spokesperson added.
    
($1 = 149.8000 yen)

 (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by William Mallard)
 ((Yuka.Obayashi@thomsonreuters.com; +813-4520-1265;))