Safety costs at nuclear plants in Japan exceed ¥6 tril

Current Status of Japan’s Nuclear Power 2021

https://www.iges.or.jp/en/publication_documents/pub/issue/en/12008/20220406+IGES+Nuclear+Report.pdf

My personal preference is to end nuclear energy here because of the natural disasters and the incompetence of the power companies and the government atomic safety agencies which back in 2011 thought a nuclear disaster was never possible here.

The Americans have extended the life of their reactors to 80 years

Keep in mind, two 'wrongs' don't make a right but it's a pretty fair bet that Japan's reactors have FAR more earthquake risk and adverse/salty climate contributing to accelerated degradation. We all know earthquakes create a 'cumulative' damage, weaken structures every time...

Surely areas not so earthquake prone, argument for nuclear makes a bit more sense I think we can agree, maybe the earthquake capital of world not so much!

How on earth can authorities approve nuclear power plants for operational use, when the new safety and anti-terrorism measures have not been completed?

In fact some NPPs have not even started their construction. Paper plans only.

Ridiculous!

Big percentage of the 6 trill would be insurance. Another 25% would be governance. Just get them back online and run the things. Remember fuel cost will soon jump from 150 to 180 yen a litre when the Government loading tax is place back on.

Japan has set a nuclear power generation target of providing 20 to 22 percent of electricity and 36 to 38 percent through renewable energy by fiscal 2030 in an effort to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

This is a noble aim (if the nuke part were doable). Greening power generation is arguably what the country should be doing most, not sabre rattling over Taiwan, worrying about childcare, hosting more Olympics, or anything else.

50km of driving an electric car a day will add 10kWh of demand to everyone who drives one. That will more than double the demand of a single car household, and triple it for a two-car one in inaka. The switch to electric heating and water heating also increases demand on the grid, even though new houses are well insulated and Eco Cute boilers are efficient.

This new electricity needs to be generated on top of what the country is already struggling to generate. Net zero also includes a greening of industry, which will again mean a switch from fossil fuels to (non-existant) electricity. Efficiency gains from insulation etc. in industry will be miniscule compared to households.

Who's going to pay? A rhetorical question, innit? Short-term profits for the few and long term costs for the many ("externalities") is the economic model of nuclear fission power. Cheap, it ain't!

Yup - nuclear is the ultimate boondoggle.

It would be okay if the one's paying were also the one's profiting off of it while it was profitable. My guess though is that most profit were privatized while the unexpected costs are paid with our taxes.

how many wind and solar installations could this money have built?

Good question, and also how many residential and commercial buildings could be retrofit so they require much less energy. Subsidize households not the power corporations.Give homeowners and small businesses tax breaks if they install wind or solar. Stop subsidizing the elite-establishment. Support start-up businesses focused on conservation, alternative energy and the circular economy..

I think Japan is perfect for pumped hydro storage.

The safety upgrades are paid for by the owners, the power companies not public money. But much of the Fukushima nuclear disaster is being paid for by public money and is set to greatly increase over the coming decades.

The Fukushima plant and the 20 reactors to be decommissioned will produce many millions of tons of nuclear waste without an agreed site to store it.

Before Fukushima disaster, superficial reason that Japan government continues nuclear plants was "cheap and safe energy".

But now, nuclear power in Japan is never cheap, continuing to use superannuated nuclear plants beyond designed limit is danger itself.

Increased cost will be added to power charges, many general public will be burdened it.

Over decade from Fukushima disaster, Japan had enough time to expand other power option such as renewable energy but LDP regime had neglected it intentionally.

Japan's nuclear industries and its beneficiary groups continue vast political contribution and donation to LDP, LDP regime only prioritize to benefit nuclear industries of Japan with exploiting Ukraine crisis as "shock doctrine".

Damnnn! No wonder my taxes were so high!

Generating the overnight baseload is the most concern. About 25% of the total daily demand is needed to stop the grid from collapsing. Currently difficult to do with renewables.

Nuclear using these legacy designs was never cheap, it as just made to appear so by socialising the costs and privatising the profits.

A wide mix of renewables can provide much of the needed power at a much lower cost and help achieve the carbon reduction targets but there is still a need for a base load capacity that can be switched on and off at need which these decaying dinosaurs can not fulfil though there are modern walk away safe designs of nuclear reactors which can be used in this way.

Pouring money and scarce resources in to these decrepit plants is a waste of time and opportunity. These resources could be better used to greater benefit to the people and country to achieve long term energy security.

The safety upgrades were required because the Fukushima NPP lacked serious safety features. Non-water-tight reactor buildings. Emergency generators at sea level. No emergency water supply for reactor cooling. No offsite control rooms.

About 20 reactors will not be updated because of the costs and life cycles. The power companies have applied for decommissioning licenses.

The Americans have extended the life of their reactors to 80 years.

The nuclear liability law protects the power companies in a nuclear disaster like Fukushima limiting liabilities to Y120 billion. Fukushima so far as cost ¥25 trillion.

Japan has agreed to extend the reactor life cycle to 60 years.

I don't think there will be any new plants in the future.

What percentage of the cost transfers in brown envelopes?

after 35-40 years they should be decommissioned and the spent fuel buried in secure underground bunkers for the needed 1000 years with maintaince and refurbishment carried out every 5 years.

Issue captures very essence of lack of technological innovation, legacy business financial mindset, not making things safer, more environmental etc.

Yet many expect such a 'nuclear legacy' mindset to result in glorious new global nuclear renaissance!

Only one problem with 'safety'......Father time, as in concrete, steel, etc. it all steadily degrades, as there's no 're-fresh' or magic pill!

Real reason for this 'safety work', basically PR to justify extending 'useful' lives, nobody wants new safe generation with dangerous 'cash-cows' sitting around, especially in a market where energy demand's been dropping for several decades with no end in sight!

Besides if there's another major earthquake and meltdown there's NO BUSINESS RISK AS TOO BIG FOR OPERATORS TOO PAY FOR!

Who's going to pay? A rhetorical question, innit? Short-term profits for the few and long term costs for the many ("externalities") is the economic model of nuclear fission power. Cheap, it ain't!

Those old chaps waving glow sticks at the entrance don't pay for themselves.

Building new reactors is now very expensive.

That is about one-third of the profits left with the reactor lives. The power companies will be looking to extend their life cycles.

Solar and wind power cannot provide baseload power.

Simply a pipe dream, both figures. As kurisupisu notes how many wind and solar installations could this money have built?

Japan has set a nuclear power generation target of providing 20 to 22 percent of electricity and 36 to 38 percent through renewable energy by fiscal 2030 in an effort to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Maybe it’s time to retire these dinosaurs and just build some new nuclear plants with modern technology.

So much for nuclear power being a cheap infinite source of energy…

Tell me again how nuclear power is cheap and safe.

The solar panels on my roof have zero safety costs…