The Tomari Nuclear Power Plant, the only nuclear power plant in Hokkaido, Japan (Credit: JAIF)
The governor of Japan’s Hokkaido prefecture, Naomichi Suzuki, has approved the restart of unit 3 at Hokkaido Electric Power’s Tomari NPP. Suzuki made the announcement at a meeting of the Hokkaido Prefectural Assembly after the four municipalities surrounding the nuclear plant previously expressed their approval.
After the Nuclear Regulation Authority concluded in July that the Tomari 3 complies with new regulatory standards, the government asked the prefectural government of Hokkaido and the municipalities, of Tomari, Kyowa, Iwanai, and Kamoenai in August to accept the restart.
Hokkaido Electric aims to restart the reactor as soon as possible in 2027. In November, Suzuki told a prefectural assembly meeting that restarting the reactor is a “realistic choice to be taken for the time being,” considering its potential effect of lowering electricity rates, as well as a future rise in electricity demand.
The local consent was the last major step for restarting the 912 MWe reactor, which has been offline since 2012 amid Japan’s moves to strengthen nuclear safety following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi disaster. Hokkaido Electric plans to complete construction of a seawall by March 2027 and aims to restart the reactor as soon as possible thereafter. The 912 MWe pressurised water reactor was commissioned in 2009.
The approval comes just weeks after Hideyo Hanazumi, governor of Niigata prefecture, gave the green light for a partial restart of Tokyo Electric Power’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPP.
Sign up for our weekly news round-up!
AloJapan.com