World’s Largest Nuclear Power Plant Becomes Operational in Japan

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News Desk: After being shut down for 15 years, the world’s largest nuclear power plant in Japan is set to restart operations.

The massive facility, known as Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, had been closed since the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), one of the plant’s reactors is scheduled to be restarted on 9 February.

This was confirmed on Friday (6 February) during a press conference by the plant’s chief, Takeuki Inagaki. An earlier attempt to restart the reactor on 21 January had to be halted the next day after an alarm went off as a safety precaution.

Although the alarm was triggered due to a technical issue, authorities have now confirmed that the reactor is safe for operation following thorough testing.

Commercial power generation from the plant is expected to begin around 18 March or shortly thereafter. While the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant houses a total of seven reactors, only one will be operational initially.

After the 2011 earthquake and tsunami triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan had shut down all of its nuclear plants. However, the country is now turning back to nuclear power to reduce dependence on imported fuel and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The government considers the plant’s operation especially critical to meet the growing electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and other advanced technologies.

The plant’s restart has received mixed reactions from local residents. A survey in Niigata Prefecture indicates that nearly 60 percent of locals oppose the reopening. In January, seven protest groups submitted a petition signed by around 40,000 people, arguing that the plant is located on an active earthquake-prone fault line.

Protesters fear that a powerful earthquake, similar to the one in 2007, could again pose significant risks. Despite these concerns and controversies, TEPCO is moving forward with final preparations for the restart.

Source: NDTV