Nuclear energy costs still rising, three years on from Fukushima, SMH,  11 Mar 14 The cost to restart Japan’s nuclear power plants: $US12.3 billion ($13.6 billion) and counting.That’s the amount power companies have committed so far on thousands of tons of reinforced concrete and steel, armies of workers, tsunami walls and seismic tests.

All to meet tougher safety standards for the remaining 48 reactors on coastlines throughout earthquake-prone Japan. And to convince regulators the defenses will withstand a quake and tsunami on a scale of what struck the Fukushima area three years ago Tuesday, causing one of history’s worst civil nuclear disasters and shutting down the nation’s atomic fleet……….

The economic pressures to restart reactors mask bigger issues Japan has yet to tackle, the nation’s Atomic Energy Commission vice-chairman Tatsujiro Suzuki said. These include: How much of Japan’s energy, if any, should nuclear provide in the future? What liabilities do utilities carry in case of accidents and what part should be paid for by the government? Will the nation build more atomic stations and how will they fit with a new law to split generation from transmission?………

ncoming Tokyo Electric Power Co. chairman Fumio Sudo, who was formerly president of steelmaker JFE Holdings Inc., said in January that the power company’s whole management and business model needs a shake-up to make them competitive.

“At the moment, no one wants to link all these things together,” Atomic Energy Commission’s Suzuki said.

As the companies pour concrete, public confidence in restarting reactors remains low following flurries of secondary accidents at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima plant, including leaks of hundreds of tons of radioactive water……..

The most visible change at Hamaoka is the construction of a 1.6-kilometer-long concrete tsunami wall, reinforced with 40,000 metric tons of steel. It stretches across beach in front of the plant.

Tsunami wall

When completed this year the wall will be 22 meters high. The height is based on latest estimates that indicate an earthquake in the area would generate a 19-meter tsunami. The wall’s part of a $US3 billion plan to shore up Hamaoka defenses as Chubu seeks permissions to restart the reactors.

Aside from the wall, Chubu is adding a 20-megawatt back-up gas plant on higher ground at the site to power cooling systems in emergencies.http://www.smh.com.au/environment/nuclear-energy-costs-still-rising-three-years-on-from-fukushima-20140311-34ii6.ht