TEPCO gets approval to restart Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Unit 5

Japan’s Nuclear Saftey Commission said on Monday it has given Tokyo Electric Power Co <9501.T> the green light to restart operations at one of four nuclear reactors still shut at a quake-hit plant in northern Japan.

Asia’s largest utility still needs approval from three local authorities — the city of Kashiwazaki, the village of Kariwa and Niigata Prefecture — before it can begin restart tests on the 1,100-megawatt No.5 reactor at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant.

TEPCO restarted the No.6 and No.7 units last year and the No.1 unit earlier this year at the nuclear plant, the world’s largest, after a major earthquake in northern Japan forced the plant of a total seven units to close in July 2007.

Source: Yahoo! News / Reuters

Indo-Japan nuclear deal is essential

An India-Japan civil nuclear pact would be critical in signalling that they would like to build a partnership to bring stability to the region at a time when China is going all out to reward Pakistan with civilian nuclear reactors, says Harsh V Pant.

Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada was in Delhi recently for the fourth round of India-Japan strategic dialogue and made it clear that negotiations on civilian nuclear cooperation pact are going to be rather difficult.

There are indications that negotiations on the pact between Japan and India have stalled and it now looks unlikely that this pact would be signed during the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Japan in October as originally planned. India and Japan started discussions on the possibility of Japan signing a civil nuclear agreement with India in June. This was a significant move for Japan that has long been critical of Indian nuclear policy. Though India-Japan ties have blossomed in recent years on a whole range of issues, the nuclear issue has been a major irritant in the relationship.

The Indian nuclear tests of 1998 marked the lowest point in bilateral relations with Japan reacting strongly to the nuclearisation of the sub-continent. Tokyo suspended economic assistance for three years as well as put on hold all political exchanges between the two nations. Japan’s economic measures against India included freezing of grant aid for new projects, suspension of yen loans, withdrawal of Tokyo as a venue for India Development Forum, a ‘cautious examination’ of loans to India by international financial institutions and imposition of strict control over technology transfers.

Japan took the lead in various international fora like the G-8 in condemning nuclear tests by India and Pakistan while the Japanese Diet (parliament) described the tests as constituting a threat to the very survival of human beings.

This strong reaction from Japan was in many ways understandable given that the Japanese are the only people to have experienced the brutality of nuclear weapons and that experience has continued to shape their world-view. Yet, many in India saw the Japanese reaction as hypocritical given that India’s genuine security concerns were brushed aside even as Japan itself enjoyed the security guarantee of the US nuclear umbrella.

As many in India see it, Japan’s commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, in many ways, remains predicated upon its reliance on American nuclear deterrence. Continued…

Read more: Harsh V Pant, Rediff News

Indo-Japan deal in the works

Japan on Saturday said that the much anticipated civil nuclear agreement between the two nations was on the anvil, and would be formulated ‘as soon as possible.

Speaking at a joint press conference in national capital, Japan’s Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said: “These are discussions on nuclear cooperation agreement and as such, it goes without saying, we are discussing the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. As for a timeline, I would say…as soon as possible, but we have not really set a specific deadline.”

Mentioning about the stir caused by the deal in the socio-political circles of Japan, Okada said he lobbied for the inclusion of the non-proliferation clause in the agreement.

“Considering the domestic criticism in Japan, I asked for consideration on the part of India so that this philosophy of nuclear disarmament and non proliferation would be contained in the nuclear cooperation agreement,” Okada said.

While calling it a win-win situation for both the nations, Okada, however, said that if India were to break its self-imposed, voluntary unilateral moratorium on nuclear tests, the deal would be suspended.

“I do not think we can say or suggest that India refrain from conducting any nuclear tests. But if such a thing were to happen, then Japan would have no option but to suspend our cooperation,” said Okada.

Earlier in the day, Okada, who is undertaking a two-day state visit to India, called on Krishna to conduct the fourth round of the Indian-Japan Strategic Dialogue.

The meeting comprised crucial negotiations on the civil nuclear agreement between the two nations, which went smoothly, said officials.

Japan has been hesitant to sign a civilian pact with India because the nation is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), thus barring Japanese companies from supplying nuclear products to India.

Previously, the Indo-American 123 agreement on civil nuclear cooperation had created a worldwide stir, since India became the first nation to keep its atomic weapons and to trade in nuclear technology despite not having signed international treaties and norms on non-proliferation.

India has often maintained that it will not adhere to the NPT, and will not sign it as long as it is discriminatory and biased towards more powerful nations.

In the course of his visit, Okada and Krishna also had a productive exchange of ideas to consolidate the socio-economic and political dimensions of the bilateral relations between India and Japan.

Okada’s visit is aimed at firming up the agenda for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s trip to Tokyo in October this year, during which he will have a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

The bilateral nuclear agreement is expected to be formulated before Singh’s visit to Japan.

Source: India Gazette

Japan to develop jumbo-sized reactors to replace old ones

Toshiba Corp. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. are among companies working with the government on a $645 million project to develop longer-lasting jumbo-sized reactors by 2030 to replace older models at home and for export.

The government and companies, who also include Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy Ltd., will share the 55 billion yen cost of developing the 1,800-megawatt light-water reactors, according to a draft assessment report submitted to a nuclear power committee in Tokyo today. Tokyo Electric Power Corp. operates Japan’s biggest reactors, each with 1,356 megawatts capacity.

Japan is targeting sales to the U.S., Europe and at home, where 270 reactors will likely be replaced by 2050 after reaching a 60-year use-by date, according to the report. The country is also hoping to meet growing demand for carbon-free generation in developing countries in Asia and the Middle East.

The new reactors will have 80-year lifespans and take less than 30 months to build, according to the report. Basic design of the reactors will be completed by 2015, it said.

Source: Bloomberg

India hopes to ink nuclear accord with Japan

Downplaying recent adverse remarks by Japanese officials about civil nuclear cooperation with India, India Friday said it would shortly hold another round of negotiations with Japan here and underlined that it was hopeful of ‘a win-win’ atomic accord soon.

‘Both countries have been working towards a good agreement which will be a win-win situation for both India and Japan,’ Gautam Bambawale, joint secretary in charge of East Asia in the external affairs ministry, told reporters here.

‘We are hoping that the Japanese negotiators will come to New Delhi,’ he said, a day before Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada comes here Saturday for talks that will also include the prospects of civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries.

‘It’s for the Japanese side to handle these viewpoints and decide on nuclear pact with India. The Japanese government has taken a decision after considering all viewpoints,’ said Bambawale.

‘We share a common goal of creating a world free of weapons of mass destruction,’ said Vishnu Prakash, spokesperson of the external affairs ministry.

There is a robust anti-nuclear domestic constituency in Japan that has been critical of starting nuclear negotiations with India, a country that has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The mayor of Nagasaki, one of the two Japanese cities scorched by atom bombs to extract Japan’s surrender during World War II, made a declaration Aug 9 that calls for the abolition of all nuclear weapons in the world.

Ahead of his visit to India, Okada said he was to ‘candidly convey to India critical public opinions in Japan’ and urge New Delhi to make efforts towards nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

India and Japan launched the first round of nuclear negotiations June 28-29 after a nod from Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan. Tokyo had supported New Delhi’s bid to resume global nuclear commerce in the 46-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group in September 2008.

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna will hold delegation-level talks Saturday with Okada on a wide range of bilateral issues, including intensification of economic ties, the UN reforms and civil nuclear cooperation.

Okada will also call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The two sides will review progress negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). ‘Another round of talks will take place in September on this issue,’ said Bambawale.

The talks between Krishna and Okada will also prepare the agenda for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Tokyo, likely towards October-end.

India is confident of further progress in civil nuclear negotiations by the time Manmohan Singh visits Tokyo, said sources.

Nudged by the US and France to fast-track the nuclear pact with India so that General Electric Co and France’s Areva can use Japanese suppliers for nuclear power projects for India, Japan has decided to accelerate the negotiations.

Japanese companies like Hitachi and Toshiba are eying a share of India’s growing nuclear pie, estimated to be worth $150 billion.

Issues related to the UN reforms will also figure in discussions, said sources. India and Japan, along with Brazil and Germany, make the G4 grouping seeking permanent seats in a reformed UN Security Council.

Source: Yahoo! News

641-ton steam generators bound for San Onofre nuclear plant

Two, 65-foot, 641-ton steam generators are being hoisted from a ship onto a barge at the Port of Los Angeles this week — one that will carry them to the San Onofre nuclear plant to complete a decade-long replacement process.

And there are more gargantuan feats to come: unloading the giant generators at a dock on the Camp Pendleton Marine base, then carrying them on heavy-duty vehicles at a slow crawl to the nuclear plant.

One of two 640-ton, 65-foot-long steam generators being loaded onto a barge at the Port of Los Angeles Tuesday. The generators are 22 feet in diameter. H. LORREN AU JR., THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

It’s all part of a $691 million upgrade meant to allow the plant to continue operating at least until its present license expires in 2022. It could also allow the plant to last 20 years beyond that if a new license is approved.

“It’s pretty exciting for me,” said Mike Wharton, Southern California Edison’s senior project leader for the steam generator replacement, as he watched two cranes slowly swing the first of the generators onto the barge Tuesday. “By the time this is all done, I will have been working on this with a few other people for about a decade.”

The nuclear plant’s unit 2 reactor had its steam generators replaced last year. The new generators will be installed in unit 3.

One was being moved from the ship to the barge Tuesday, the second will move Wednesday, Wharton said. The ship carried the generators from their manufacturer in Japan.

The generators will remain at the Port of Los Angeles for a week to 10 days before making their journey south, Wharton said.

After they arrive at Camp Pendleton’s Del Mar boat basin, near Oceanside, they’ll be loaded onto a tracked vehicle, taken to the Las Pulgas freeway exit, and loaded onto a “Goldhofer” — a long, 256-wheeled vehicle — for a slow crawl of about a mile up Interstate 5.

That will take place late at night to avoid disrupting traffic.

The generators will then be carried along a dirt road and through state parks property to the nuclear plant.

The generators will be installed in October, after the unit 3 reactor has been shut down and a hole cut in the side of the containment dome.

Workers will use water under high pressure to cut a 28-square-foot hole out of the four-foot-thick dome, Wharton said.

The generators use heat from the reactors to turn water into steam that drives the plant’s turbines and generators, creating electricity.

The old generators are considered low-level radioactive waste, and all four will be shipped to a waste disposal site in Utah sometime next year, Wharton said.

The steam generator replacement has caused controversy among anti-nuclear activists, including Lyn Harris Hicks of CREED — the Coalition for Responsible and Ethical Environmental Decisions — who lives in San Clemente only two miles from the nuclear plant.

“It’s a terrible waste of our rate money,” she said.

Hicks said she also believes the metal used to build generators is inadequate and unsafe, and that the replacements should not be made because they could extend the nuclear plant’s life.

Edison officials say both the metal and the installation process are safe and pose no threat to workers or the public.

Source: The Orange County Register

Two-year study bolsters Japan’s nuclear power plan

• Japan to stick to plans to develop new reactors by 2015

• Demand expected for some 135 advanced reactors in 2030-2050

The Japanese government’s plan to work with the private sector to develop next generation light water nuclear reactors has been given a boost after a two-year study found the scheme was viable.

The joint project to develop an advanced version of the world’s most popular reactor, under which the government would contribute half the total 55 billion yen ($644 million) cost, is a bid to boost energy diversification at home and to help drive Japan’s growth by selling the facilities abroad.

Toshiba Corp (6502.T: Quote), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (7011.T: Quote) and Hitachi GE Nuclear Energy Ltd, Hitachi Ltd’s (6501.T: Quote) nuclear unit, have worked together to develop two varieties of the 1,700 to 1,800 mega watt light water type reactors — boiling-water reactors (BWR) and pressurised-water reactors (PWR). Continued…

Read more: Reuters

Kashiwazaki Kariwa 1 back in service

Following an inspection by Japanese authorities, unit 1 of Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (Tepco’s) Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant resumed commercial operation on 4 August, having been offline for over three years. Along with the six other reactors at the plant, unit 1 was subject to the powerful Niigata-Chuetsu offshore earthquake of July 2007 and suffered widespread minor damage. After lengthy inspection and repair, Tepco began test operations on 21 May 2010 but stopped when a technical issue came to light concerning a pump on a water feed line to the 1067 MWe boiling water reactor. Having rectified this, the process to start up again began on 31 May. Units 7 and 6 of the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant resumed operation in December 2009 and January 2010, respectively. Tests to clear the way for the restart of unit 5 are set to begin soon, according to a report in the Denki Shimbun.

Source: World Nuclear News

Japanese consortium ends Uranium One investment

A consortium of three Japanese companies has agreed to end their investment in Canada-based Uranium One, securing long-term uranium purchasing rights instead. Meanwhile, Uranium One is upping its 2010 production forecast.

South Inkai (Image: Uranium One)

Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), Toshiba Corporation, and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) have signed a new agreement with Uranium One which will see them receive purchase rights for up to 2.5 million pounds U₃O₈ (962 tU) per year from 2014 to 2025, at a market-related price at the time of delivery.

Uranium One has agreed to buy back the convertible debentures it sold to the trio’s Japan Uranium Management Inc (JUMI) for C$271.79 million ($264.42 million), equivalent to 101% of the amount originally paid by the three companies when they agreed to buy 117 million shares in the company in 2009. The Japanese companies subsequently agreed to take up convertible debentures instead of common shares in a transaction completed in January 2010.

The latest agreement is subject to the completion of the acquisition of a controlling share of Uranium One by Russia’s AtomRedMetZoloto (ARMZ), and is expected to be effective by December 2010.

Uranium One ups guidance

Uranium One says it expects to produce 7.0 million pounds U₃O₈ (2693 tU) in 2010, up from its earlier predictions of 6.8 million pounds U₃O₈ (2616 tU), because of better-than-expected performance at its South Inkai deposit in Kazakhstan. The company’s second quarter figures boast attributable production of 1.826 million pounds U₃O₈ (716 tU), more than double the figure for the same period in 2010, primarily due to the acquisition of a 50% interest in the Karatau uranium mine and the continued ramp up at South Inkai.

Source: World Nuclear News

Japan explores importing fuel from Kazakhstan

Japan, the world’s third-largest producer of nuclear energy after the United States and France, plans to launch a feasibility study this month to explore the possibility of importing uranium from Kazakhstan through Russia’s far east.

Sumimoto Corp, a Japanese nuclear energy company, claims the move will substantially cut transportation costs as Kazakh uranium at present goes to St Petersburg and then on to France, the US and Canada for enrichment before reaching Japan.

Japan’s Trade Ministry will finance the six-month study, which envisions the delivery of Kazakh uranium through the trans-Siberian transportation network to Russia’s Angarsk for enrichment and subsequent transit to Japan via the sea port at Vladivostok. If realized, the related agreements might also enable Japan to further reduce its dependence on oil from the Middle East and its 50% dependence on the uranium imports from Canada and Australia. Kazakhstan will also benefit as it will free up its existing export routes to the West through St Petersburg, while reducing the transit time for its uranium exports to Asia.

Russia planned establishing a logistics center in the far east to meet the rapidly growing needs of Asian economies, and cooperated with Kazakhstan through transportation-enrichment swap schemes to reduce transit costs, cutting delivery times from 100 to 25 days in some instances. Russia also has 45% of the world’s enrichment capacity, while Kazakhstan has huge export potential. This makes Japan’s feasibility study a relevant undertaking.

The study comes at a time of rising global demand for uranium. There are already 53 nuclear power plants being constructed around the world, with about 500 more planned by 2030. Kazakhstan, therefore, would benefit from the possible transit and enrichment agreements ensuing from the feasibility study. Kazakhstan’s estimated uranium resources, the second-largest in the world, constitute 19% of global reserves. Continued…

Read more: Asia Times

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