Japan Restarts Nuclear Reactor at World’s Largest Plant

(MENAFN) Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) began trial power generation and transmission Monday from a reactor at the world’s largest nuclear power facility, marking the first step toward resuming nuclear power supply in nearly 14 years, according to reports.

The company plans to begin full-scale electricity transmission from the No. 6 reactor of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant on March 18, continuing efforts to recover from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The No. 6 reactor became TEPCO’s first to restart since the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown, triggered by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. The turbine began operating Sunday evening, with electricity transmission starting Monday morning after no issues were detected.

During the trial, TEPCO will repeatedly disconnect and reconnect the generator while gradually increasing output from 20% to full capacity. The reactor last supplied electricity in March 2012 before shutting down for routine inspections.

Another reactor at the facility is also expected to resume operations, having already received regulatory approval, although most nuclear reactors in Japan remain offline due to ongoing safety concerns following Fukushima.

As part of its decarbonization strategy, the Japanese government aims to maximize the use of nuclear energy by restarting reactors that meet strict safety standards.

The No. 6 reactor initially restarted on January 21 but was temporarily shut down due to an alarm during control rod extraction and later went back online on February 9. Monday’s transmission was further delayed by a malfunction in a neutron-measuring device.

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