Page 4 - AsiaElec Week 07 2023

AsiaElec COMMENTARY AsiaElec

Japanese nuclear power program

gets the green light

Rare dissenting voice heard, but not enough to nix government plans to once
again add nuclear power to the national energy mix

JAPAN JAPANESE nuclear regulators have given the declaration of a full-scale swing back to nuclear use.
go-ahead for new nuclear reactors to be con- Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida had himself
WHAT: Nuclear to structed while at the same time extending the previously called the push for net-zero “a major reform
once again help power operational lifetime of current reactors from 40 of the whole economy and society.”
world’s 3rd biggest to 60 years and beyond. Moves by Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority
economy It is the culmination of a plan that first sur- (NRA) to allow for extensions from 40 to 60 years fol-
faced in late November, 2022, as part of Tokyo’s lowed, intermittently making headlines, before Kishi-
WHY: bid to guarantee domestic energy security in the da’s government this week gave the green light on a by
Rising fuel costs and decades to come. now expected full-scale reversion to nuclear power use.
desire to hit net-zero by Initial plans to keep reactors online for as The public announcement of the decision to once
2050 long as possible included discounting periods again utilize nuclear technology followed an adminis-
of inaction at individual reactors, which in trative move by the NRA the previous day to allow a
WHAT NEXT: some cases amounted to several years as part of review of safety rules governing nuclear reactors.
Widespread restart and routine safety checks and periods of shutdown A decision ignored by much of Japan’s domestic
construction plans to get in response to extended anti-nuclear furore media, this was itself a subtle thumbs up to subsequent
underway nationwide in the wake of the 2011, Fukushima moves towards reopening mothballed reactors as well
Daiichi disaster. as constructing new facilities where needed. At the time
With the passage of time and increased To finance its plans, Japan’s LDP will now issue
strains on Japan’s power grids in recent years, “green transformation” bonds to the value of 20 trillion Japan’s restart
however, the nation’s ruling Liberal Democratic yen (US$ 152 bn) as part of a total investment of 150 plans were first
Party (LDP) has veered back in favour of using trillion yen over the next decade.
nuclear power to help counter rising fuel prices Payback on the bonds is to come from funds raised hinted at last
and the slow-pace of renewables installations. by way of a carbon tax imposed on companies emit-
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and China’s ting CO2. It is thought this will primarily be applied to November, the
increasingly aggressive territorial ambitions in refineries as well as the larger importers of fossil fuels
the East Asian region has also led to a signifi- and trading houses. country had
cant shift in public opinion in the resource-poor At the time Japan’s restart plans were first hinted 60 commercial
archipelago. at last November, the country had 60 commercial
Plans revealed in 2022, initially included the reactors. reactors.
development of next-generation reactors with Almost half that number were at various stages
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries working with a of decommissioning with more shut down as part of
number of other domestic power producers to extensive and lengthy safety checks.
develop a state-of-the-art advanced light water As such, when the nation’s NRA at first failed
reactor. to unanimously agree on safety rules surround-
Another Japanese household name, Hitachi ing extension and construction plans earlier this
was also reported as teaming up with General month, it appeared as if the lone opposition voice
Electric to work on a new form of reactor. on the NRA commissioners panel, Akira Ishiwatari,
Several weeks after the plans to revert back to might have derailed the government’s nuclear policy
using nuclear power were made public, Japan’s entirely.
Green Transformation (GX) Executive Com-
mittee, made up of environmental, and business Lone standout
experts referred to the use of nuclear power as “a A second round of talks on February 15th,
power source that contributes to energy security also failed to achieve a uniform consensus with
and has a high decarbonisation effect.” Ishiwatari, a prominent geologist at Tohoku
University, again the lone hold-out saying “We
Funding through bond issue are open to revisions (to rules) if changes are
In a nation committed to hitting a net-zero emis- clearly to contribute to greater safety for scien-
sions target by 2050, this was seen as the tipping point tific or technical reasons. To me, these changes
by some analysts in Tokyo ahead of a government do not serve either purpose.”

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 07 15 •February•2023