Reactor buildings unit one (L, rear) through unit four (R) stand at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Kariwa, Niigata Prefecture, northern Japan, in 2015. The plant has been shut down since 2012 after the Fukushima disaster. On Wednesday, units 6 and 7 went live. File Photo by Kimimasa Mayama/EPA
Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Wednesday restarted operations at the world’s largest nuclear power plant by output after it had been down for about 14 years.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, resumed operations after 7 p.m. local time. It had been planned for a Tuesday start but a test revealed a faulty alarm during the removal of a control rod in the No. 6 reactor, the Asahi Shimbun reported.
The Japanese Nuclear Regulatory Authority gave approval to restart after the problem was fixed.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant is the world’s largest nuclear power plant by output when fully operational. It’s the 15th reactor in Japan to have restarted under the tight post-Fukushima safety standards.
The plant stopped operating in March 2012 after it went offline for an inspection. None of its seven reactors have operated because of stronger safety regulations after the TEPCO Fukushima No. 1 triple-meltdown in March 2011.
Because of the long pause in operation, the No. 6 reactor has fewer experienced workers to run it. About 60% of the workers at the No. 6 and 7 reactors have no experience, causing concerns about its safety. The workers have gone through simulation exercises at the site and they’ve had training at other plants.
TEPCO said it plans to increase output and send power to the Tokyo area on a trial basis, then start commercial operation on Feb. 26.
“We will show through our deeds and results that we are putting safety first,” TEPCO said in a statement.
