nuclear-news

All of Tepco’s nuclear reactors to be out of service in March

Japan’s Tepco to suspend all nuclear operations  By MarketWatch, Feb. 9, 2012,   Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Thursday it will suspend operations of the No. 6 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture on March 26 for a periodic check, a plan that will take all of its 17 reactors out of service, Kyodo News reported.

The No. 6 reactor with a power output of 1.356 million kilowatts is the last to be suspended out of the plant’s seven reactors.

It will be the first time all 17 units have been halted since the
April 15-May 6 period of 2002, when they were suspended after a public
outcry over revelations that TEPCO had hidden problems at its nuclear
plants.

Out of the seven at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, the No. 1, No. 2,
No. 3 and No. 4 as well as the No. 7 reactors have been suspended as a
result of periodic checkups and a 2007 earthquake that badly damaged
the prefecture and its vicinity.

On Jan. 25, TEPCO suspended the No. 5 reactor at the plant for a
periodic check, leaving the No. 6 reactor the only one in service both
at the plant and throughout the utility’s service area.

TEPCO says it wants to restart the operations of the seven reactors in
stages, starting in fiscal 2013 or later.

But Niigata Gov. Hirohiko Izumida said the factors that triggered the
2011 crisis at the six-reactor Fukushima Daiichi plant must be
examined and identified before the seven are allowed to restart
operations. The nearby Fukushima Daini plant also run by TEPCO has
four reactors.

Among Japan’s 54 commercial reactors, only two will be in operation —
the No. 3 reactor at the Tomari plant in Hokkaido and the No. 3
reactor at the Takahama plant in Fukui Prefecture. Both will go
offline for regular checkups by late April.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/japans-tepco-to-suspend-all-nuclear-operations-2012-02-09

February 10, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general