WNE2023 | COUNTRY PAVILLIONS Japan: Jumping back into nuclear
Japan is now in the process of restarting much of its reactor fleet, shutdown in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster.
With a lack of indigenous energy resources Japan had been heavily dependent on nuclear capacity. Up until 2011 nuclear supplied around 30% of the nation’s electricity and there had been plans for this proportion to grow in the coming years. The Fukushima Daiichi disaster brought those plans crashing down and almost all of the nation’s nuclear reactors were shut down in the immediate
Above: Unit 2 of the Takahama plant in Fukui Prefecture has now been restarted
aftermath. Since then, a more stringent regulatory regime has been imposed and although today Japan has 33 reactors that are deemed operable just 12 have been returned to service. The first two reactors restarted in August and October 2015, and a further 10 have restarted since. Most recently, in September this year, Kansai Electric Power restarted the 780 MWe PWR at unit 2 at the Takahama plant in Fukui Prefecture. Kansai has now resumed operating all seven of its reactors. A further 16 reactors are currently in the process of gaining approval to restart. Although the regulatory regime has been made more robust, in May Japan’s parliament passed a bill that will allow reactors to operate beyond the current 60-year limit and in April Kansai requested approval from the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) to extend the lifespan of units 3 and 4 at Takahama (1,180 MWe PWRs), by 20 years. These units began operation in 1985. Nonetheless, the legacy of Fukushima continues to dog Japan’s nuclear industry. Recently issues associated with the discharge of water containing tritium from the site have proven controversial. In October Fukushima Daiichi owners Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) began releasing the second batch of around 7000 tonnes of water from the plant. More than one million tonnes of treated water have accumulated at the site. It still contains tritium that the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) cannot remove. This water will be diluted and discharged to the sea over about 30 years. Deemed within safety limits by the IAEA, the practice is nonetheless causing consternation among Japan’s neighbours. However, disposal of the water is a key step in the final decommissioning of the disaster site.
Poland: Pushing nuclear plans
Yet to develop a nuclear power portfolio, Poland is nonetheless pressing ahead with new nuclear capacity.
Although Poland had planned a series of nuclear power stations and had even begun construction on two, the Chornobyl disaster saw those plans abandoned. Multiple attempts to restart a nuclear development programme failed over the intervening years but in 2008 the country announced solid plans to finally become a nuclear state. These plans have rumbled along ever since, but a number of significant breakthroughs have occurred in recent months that follow on from the November 2022 government announcement that a 3750 MWe plant would be built in Pomerania using Westinghouse AP1000 technology. Progress has continued and last month a decision was made
to determine the location of investments in Pomerania for the construction of this first Polish nuclear power plant. The move allows the state-owned nuclear utility Polskie Elektrownie Jadrowe (PEJ) to use the area for preparatory activities such as indicating specific plots. In December 2021, PEJ selected the site near Lubiatowo-Kopalino for the nuclear plant. The decision is not a building permit or a construction licence but is a major step forward for the project. Earlier, PEJ had also signed an Engineering Services Contract with a consortium of American companies, including Westinghouse and Bechtel, for the design of the three- unit plant. Construction is planned to start in 2026 with first
reactor scheduled to be operational in 2033. In July, the Minister of Climate & Environment issued a decision formally confirming that investment the plant is in the public interest. Alongside advanced plans for a large nuclear reactor site, Poland
is also pursuing a SMR strategy. Earlier this year Polish metals company KGHM Polska Miedz received a basic decision from the Ministry of Climate & Environment on its plans for an SMR as part of a plan to source half of its energy internally – from renewables and nuclear – by 2030. Last year the company signed an agreement with NuScale Power to begin work deploying a 462 MWe VOYGR power plant consisting of six 77 MWe modules in Poland by 2029.
Above: Poland is hoping to deploy a NuScale VOYGR power plant
66 | WNE Special Edition |
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