Japan's Oldest NPP Reactivated After 12-Year Shutdown - Operator

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th July, 2023) The first unit of the 40-year-old Takahama Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), the oldest in Japan, was reactivated on Friday after a 12-year shutdown, the Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO) announced.

KEPCO, which is responsible for operating the NPP, said the unit was reactivated at 15:00 local time (06:00 GMT). The Takahama NPP was shut down after a tragedy at the Fukushima-1 NPP in 2011.

"We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all those who put efforts into making it possible. For about 12 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake we have been taking measures to meet standards, guided by the lessons learned from the Fukushima-1 NPP disaster and our own measures to enhance safety," the operator said in a statement.

The unit is expected to start producing energy on August 2 and, if all tests are successful, will reach full capacity around August 28, the statement read.

The Takahama NPP, located in Fukui Prefecture on Japan's largest island of Honshu, was commissioned in 1974, making it the country's oldest plant. The NPP became the second plant older than 40 years to be reactivated after the tragedy at Fukushima-1 NPP in 2011.

The first NPP to be reactivated was Mihama, also located in Fukui Prefecture. Its third reactor was reactivated on August 20, 2022, moving to a commercial load by September 26.

Japanese law limits the maximum operating time of NPP reactors to 40 years. It can be extended for another 20 years if all requirements are met and all inspections are passed.