» Oma nuclear plant applied for safety checkup, hoping to start from 2021

2014/12/16

Electricity Power Development Co. on Tuesday applied for state safety checks of the Oma nuclear power plant being built in Aomori Prefecture in Japan’s northeast, hoping to start commercial operation from around fiscal 2021.

The move by the electricity wholesaler, known as J-Power, marks the first time that screening has been sought for a reactor under construction since Japan launched a new nuclear regulatory body in the wake of the devastating Fukushima nuclear crisis in 2011.

The latest development was welcomed by the town of Oma hosting the plant, which is expected to become the world’s first plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel reactor. But it disappointed the city of Hakodate in Hokkaido that filed a lawsuit in April seeking suspension of the construction of the reactor due to safety concerns.

The screening process is expected to take time, as Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka has pointed to the need to “quite carefully assess” the safety of the plant as there are no such reactors operating in the world.

J-Power said it expects the screening to take a year, construction five years and trial operation another year.

<Media Report>
J-Power applies for safety checks of uncompleted Oma nuclear plant(Mainichi Newspaper)

Tags:construction of new plants, news, restart of nuclear reactors

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