Nuclear Power in India, China and Japan

1.

Japan Times – Kansai Electric Power Co. has presented to potential lenders a business plan that includes reactivating two reactors, in addition to the pair that were brought back online this summer. Targeted for reactivation are units 3 and 4 at the Takahama power plant in Fukui Prefecture. In July, immediately after Kepco rebooted the two Oi reactors, President Makoto Yagi said, “we are thinking Takahama reactors 3 and 4 are most promising” for a next round of reactivation.

“We would like to hold discussions with the government with the view to giving top priority to reactivating them,” he added.

The remark drew anger from Yukio Edano, head of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and others in the government because it was made before the September inauguration of the NRA, which is aiming to draw up a new set of safety criteria by next July.

2.

China may start building inland nuclear power plants during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) at the earliest,” Sun Qin, chairman of China National Nuclear Corp said. He said the country is conducting research and risk evaluation on the construction of inland nuclear power plants, which will take time.

“It is not about the technology. In fact, China’s inland nuclear power plant technology is mature,” he said. “However, we lack experience with inland projects, and the public needs time to warm up to the idea.”

On Oct 24, the State Council approved two programs, the National Plan for Nuclear Power Security (2011-20) and the Nuclear Power Development Plan (2011-20), which laid the foundations for nuclear power development in the following years.

According to these programs, China will have 40 million kilowatts of installed nuclear capacity by 2015. The country will develop the nuclear industry at a “reasonable pace”.

3. Der Spiegel – ndia Pushes Forward with Massive Expansion of Nuclear Capabilities.

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