Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings said on Wednesday it has halted operations at a reactor at the Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant just one day after restarting the unit, in a move that comes as Japan continues efforts to bring nuclear capacity back online more than a decade after Fukushima, Reuters reported.
The operator stopped the reactor after detecting an equipment issue during post-restart checks, marking an immediate setback at the world’s largest nuclear power station by capacity, according to Reuters.
The halt follows Tuesday’s restart of Unit 7, which had been offline since the 2011 Fukushima disaster and was widely seen as a critical step in restoring nuclear generation in Japan’s power mix.
Kashiwazaki Kariwa has a combined capacity of about 8.2 gigawatts across seven reactors and is central to government efforts to reduce fuel import costs and stabilize electricity supply amid volatile global energy markets.
TEPCO said the reactor was safely shut down after an alarm was triggered in auxiliary systems, with no radiation release and no impact on surrounding communities. The company added that it is investigating the cause and will determine when the unit can resume operations.
The halt comes after Kashiwazaki Kariwa spent years offline over security violations, prolonged regulatory reviews, and resistance from local authorities, issues that have repeatedly delayed the restart of Japan’s largest nuclear plant despite extensive safety retrofits and inspections carried out since the Fukushima disaster.
Japan’s government and utilities have been pushing to bring nuclear capacity back online to curb reliance on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal imports, particularly after energy costs surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Kashiwazaki Kariwa’s restart was expected to play an outsized role in easing supply constraints in the Tokyo metropolitan area and lowering wholesale power prices.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
- India Deepens Energy Ties With the Gulf While Balancing Russian Oil Risk
- Indian Refiners Boost Middle East Supply To Offset Lost Russian Oil
- Germany’s Coal Plants Return to Profit
