Japan's Hokuriku Elec aims to restart Shika No.2 reactor in 2026

Hokuriku Electric Power Co

20/10/2023 09:49

TOKYO, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Japan's Hokuriku Electric
Power  9505.T  aims to restart the No.2 reactor of its Shika
nuclear power station in early 2026 to ensure a stable supply of
electricity and improve its financial health, its president said
on Friday.
    The company is working to restart the 1,206 megawatt (MW)
reactor that has been shut since March 2011 when a huge
earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, triggering nuclear
meltdowns in Tokyo Electric Power's  9501.T  Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear power station.
    The examination for the Shika No.2 reactor has been
protracted over the determination of whether there are active
faults that run through the site. 
    But the Nuclear Regulation Authority finally agreed in March
this year with Hokuriku's assertion that there was no active
fault running under the reactor, a major win for the company to
advance the review process.
    "Quick restart of the reactor will be a great force for a
stable power supply, our financial structure and
decarbonisation," President Koji Matsuda told reporters, adding
the utility aims to restart the No.2 reactor between January and
March in 2026.
    "Once we have a clear picture of the No.2 unit, we want to
swiftly start application work on the No.1 reactor," he added.
        The 540-MW No.1 reactor has been also shut since March
2011.
    Japan made a major nuclear power policy shift last year to
tackle its energy crisis more than a decade after the 2011
Fukushima nuclear disaster prompted it to suspend all of its
reactors at one point.
    In another effort to cut its carbon dioxide emissions,
Hokuriku which serves Japan's northwestern region, plans to
boost the ratio of biomass co-firing - where a part of the fuel
is substituted with renewable energy - to 15% from less than 1%
now at two of its coal-fired power plants in the fiscal 2024
year, Matsuda said.

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