Takahama No. 2 nuclear reactor restarted after 12-year halt

50 years old and shut down for 12 years.

What could possibly go wrong?

And the government wants to use these old things past 60 years too?

Nuclear power would be great except for this kind of insanity. But I see no way to make humanity sane.

We better go back to horse and buggy.

Interesting that mainly Kansai electric has been able to get most of their reactors up and running. What is up with the other electric utilities. Also, Kansai was the only company that did not raise their electricity fees this summer since they are using their nuclear reactors, thus not being dependent on greedy Saudi Arabia for oil!

The nuclear plants are only 110 km. from Kyoto City.

And just 145 km from Osaka.

48 and 50 years old.

Stricter safety standards?

i was totally against nuclear but I guess global weather changes are here and are only going to get worse. And until other sources come online we’re stuck with them. But I wonder……..have we built something thats like a poisoned chalice that’s going to be a around our neck for decades and technically can never be decommissioned due to the costs and time and now weather change.

Abe234

i was totally against nuclear but I guess global weather changes are here and are only going to get worse. And until other sources come online we’re stuck with them. But I wonder……..have we built something thats like a poisoned chalice that’s going to be a around our neck for decades and technically can never be decommissioned due to the costs and time and now weather change

There is a decommissioning law. Over the working life of a reactor, the power companies make a small charge for decommissioning. The monies are placed in special accounts and the company has no access. When a company applies for a license to decommission a reactor they have to show the money in the account and show it will cover the full costs. Even if the power company goes bankrupt the money is still there. They also have to show that the work will be completed within 50 years. It pays to delay the work because the money in the bank is earning interest.

The taxpayer pays nothing for decommissioning a reactor.

Currently, the power companies have applied for licenses to decommission 20 reactors.

Shame shame shame!

Shame shame shame!

yeah right. Take a look at your ac and think were the power is coming from.

Well done. Japan just went thru the hottest summer on record, but the grind held up. Well done power companies.

Larr Flint

Another Fukushima

Absolutely not. You can be sure that they have modified the design so that flooding by a tsunami can not permanently shut down the cooling system and the external power supply.

That said, I hope the J government is preparing to close all these old Gen 2 designs and starts building new Gen 3 designs.

3/11 will happen again. I'll be here to tell you I told you so. The government will still cry, "How could we have known??" Next time, though, it might be far worse. I remember when PM Kan thought Tokyo might actually become uninhabitable -- the panic, the disbelief, the horror.... then they quickly covered for TEPCO.

Zaphod: "That said, I hope the J government is preparing to close all these old Gen 2 designs and starts building new Gen 3 designs."

Nope. They have actually extended the operating time from the initial 40 years so that the companies can make more money, despite all the leaks and what not.

It’s been the most miserable hot summer here in Tokyo my AC are about broken because it wasn’t made to handle running 24/7 at 18 degrees. What we need is clean nuclear fusion plants with cheaper electricity

3/11 will happen again. I'll be here to tell you I told you so.

You’ll be here? The 3/11 quake was a once-in-800-years event if we go by geological records. Unless you have some elixir of life, I highly doubt you’ll be anywhere.

Were there mistakes at Fukushima that we can learn from? Yes. But even with the Fukushima accident, nuclear power remains the least environmentally damaging power source that we have.

Japan’s decision to shutter nuclear plants for a time led to more coal, which costs vastly more lives in pollution, lung disease, and cancer. The so-called “renewables” aren’t—they rely on rare earth metals and various toxic chemicals that aren’t recycled and leave horrible scars on the landscape.

nosuke

It’s been the most miserable hot summer here in Tokyo my AC are about broken because it wasn’t made to handle running 24/7 at 18 degrees. What we need is clean nuclear fusion plants with cheaper electricity

Why would you want to run your AC @ 18ºC? What does the energy source of the electricity have to do with your broken AC?

3/11 will not happen again because of numerous reasons.

I would like to know how much investment and inferstuctre Japan has made into wind, and solar power, also methane gas generator from waste food and human waste, let's face it oil is running out and we all know the problems with nuclear stations.

Kintsugi

Why would you want to run your AC @ 18ºC? 

simply because it’s too hot and my AC been running 24/7 for 3 months now. I’m going to have to buy a new one for next summer

Seismic resistance of all nuclear plants in Japan are lower than general quake-proof designed houses.

Besides, Independency of Japan's nuclear regulation is lost as same as before Fukushima disaster.

Also, Japan's LDP Govt and pro-Govt media are emphasizing neighbouring countries' military threat but they divert their eyes from risk of military attack to nuclear plants including Takahama at seacoast where near neighbouring countries.

Millions people are living at leeward within 50 miles from old each nuclear plants of Japan.

nosuke

Kintsugi

Why would you want to run your AC @ 18ºC? 

simply because it’s too hot and my AC been running 24/7 for 3 months now. I’m going to have to buy a new one for next summer

Don't think anyone needs AC @18ºC. You only have one room? Anyway, the new eco units are much better and cheaper to run,

I would like to know how much investment and inferstuctre Japan has made into wind, and solar power, also methane gas generator from waste food and human waste, let's face it oil is running out and we all know the problems with nuclear stations.

Japan is in top 5 worldwide solar energy producers (easiest to check is Wikipedia). Speaking of nuclear energy the biggest problem is old technology and lack of investment into newer one. It is the same as if we judged cars being unsafe based on cars produced in 60s.

What is wrong with 40 50 years old reactor? If maintenance is performed and upgrades are implemented than a reactor can easily be in operation another 40 years.

Why everyone is pointing at Japan. Personally I'm more worried about North Korea and china since they do not share information.

And if we all still want to use electricity than this is still the best option because solar is great but worldwide still a small amount of the total needs. Or shall we continue burning fossels.

Hideomi Kuze

Seismic resistance of all nuclear plants in Japan are lower than general quake-proof designed houses.

Fwiw: The Fukushima reactors had no problems with seismic resistance. All the problems were caused by the combination of flooding and the interruption of outside power supply.

And the government wants to use these old things past 60 years too?

What makes you an expert on the lifespan of a nuclear power plant?

these things can easily go for 80 years if not a century.

Next! LFG!

let's face it oil is running out and we all know the problems with nuclear stations.

Oil can never run out because as extraction becomes more expensive the price would reach such a high level that we would just stop investing in it. Pollution is killing people and that’s why we’re changing to nuclear.

Every new technology has problems. Take air travel for example. Planes used to crash all the time and people carried guns on them too. We adapted.

We have adapted nuclear as well. Actually we’ve overdone the safety and added unnecessary costs. We must continue to adapt and we will reach a carbon free paradise with abundant energy.

smithinjapan

Nope. They have actually extended the operating time from the initial 40 years so that the companies can make more money, despite all the leaks and what not.

I would think they also extended the operating time because this plant exists, and it is not easy, quick or cheap to build a new one.

In the event, the only Gen 3 plant in Japan is Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, and that one shut down without problems on 3/11. I do hope they re-start it soon.