Nikkei staff writersAugust 24, 2022 11:32 JSTUpdated on August 25, 2022 00:20 JST
TOKYO — Japan is entering a new phase in its nuclear energy strategy, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ordering Wednesday the development and construction of next-generation nuclear power plants.
This marks a major shift from the country's post-Fukushima policy of backing away from the building of new nuclear power plants. The move would help Japan reduce its reliance on energy imports amid a global energy crunch and avoid strains on a power grid that has been pushed to its limit this summer.
Kishida's government aims to secure electric power in the medium to long term with a plan to restart up to 17 nuclear power plants beginning in the summer of 2023.
The prime minister believes the plan will address structural challenges facing Japan, such as electricity shortages and decarbonization delays, especially as it aims to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Detailed measures and a timeline for implementation will be outlined by the government by the end of the year.
The main objective going forward from 2030 will be to consider construction of next-generation nuclear power plants. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has already compiled a draft on such plants — specifically safer, light-water reactors — with plans to start commercial operation in the 2030s.
Until now Japan has avoided building new nuclear power plants and upgrading existing facilities. If any new plants are built, they would be the first since the devastating 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami led to meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Kishida will also seek to extend the operating period of existing nuclear power plants. Current law stipulates a 40- to 60-year operating life, after which reactors are decommissioned.
Germans made a big mistake shutting down nuclear before they shut down coal
Certainly right on that one. The anti-nuclear movement is strong here and has strong roots in the CND movement from the seventies, so it has taken on a quasi-evangelical tone that is making rational discourse difficult. I was surprised it was Merkel who took the step to shut down all nuclear after Fukushima. Maybe she thought that could win votes off the Greens with that move, but in terms of the energy mix, it was a dumb move.
06/20/2022PORTLAND, Ore.—(BUSINESS WIRE)— NuScale Power LLC (“NuScale”) announced today that the company will make a strategic shift from product development to product delivery by establishing the new VOYGR™ Services and Delivery (VSD) business unit. Comprised of services, supply chain, and client management functions, this new organization will be dedicated to working with customers and tasked with the delivery of services and equipment associated with the sale, development, delivery, and commercial operation of NuScale VOYGR™ power plants.
After receiving the first ever small modular reactor design (SMR) approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in August 2020, NuScale has been focused on completion of its deployment readiness program, including finalization of the standard plant design and supply chain readiness like extensive manufacturing trials. In May 2022, NuScale became the first publicly traded company focused on the design and deployment of SMR technology; this growth, in combination with this announced strategic shift, will bolster and accelerate the commercialization of NuScale’s SMR technology. Additionally, the customer-centric restructuring is a critical step to prepare the organization to scale and meet the rapidly growing global demand for NuScale’s premier clean energy solution. For NuScale’s current customer, Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems’ Carbon Free Power Project, current project activities include the placement of long-lead equipment orders. Other landmark customer engagements in Poland and Romania underscore the need for a proactive restructuring to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of NuScale’s contractual obligations for customer projects.
“Positioning NuScale towards product delivery is a natural and exciting next step for the company,” said NuScale President and Chief Executive Officer John Hopkins. “We are dedicated to changing the power that changes the world. Working closely with our customers to deploy our groundbreaking SMR technology that is setting a new standard for clean, reliable, and safe power is a critical part of that mission.”
zomg! can't believe my eyes it's like getting a dump truck load of condroizal for saint swithins day!
The Dutch government will reveal plans this week to develop two new nuclear power stations, in what will be âa good addition to all sustainable techniquesâ in the Netherlands, Climate and Energy Minister Rob Jetten has said.
âWe are fully committed to wind, sun and other sustainable energy sources. But you also want a stable CO2-free energy source in that energy mix,â he added, according to NL Times.
Following Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine in February and Gazprom cutting gas supplies to the Netherlands after wholesaler GasTerra refused to bow to the Kremlinâs demand to pay in roubles for fear of breaching EU sanctions, a majority in the Dutch House of Representatives urged Jetten to develop further plans for nuclear energy.
Following the coalition agreement, which will prepare âfor the construction of new nuclear power plants,â the government allocated â¬5 billion for the initial development, Dutch broadcaster NOS reported. The governmentâs next step is to find parties to build and operate the plants.
The conservative-liberal political party, the Peopleâs Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) wants both nuclear stations to be built in Borssele, a village in the province of Zeeland, as the only other functioning power station in the Netherlands is in that village.
PORTLAND, Ore.—(BUSINESS WIRE)— NuScale Power LLC (âNuScaleâ) announced today that the company will make a strategic shift from product development to product delivery by establishing the new VOYGR⢠Services and Delivery (VSD) business unit. Comprised of services, supply chain, and client management functions, this new organization will be dedicated to working with customers and tasked with the delivery of services and equipment associated with the sale, development, delivery, and commercial operation of NuScale VOYGR⢠power plants.
After receiving the first ever small modular reactor design (SMR) approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in August 2020, NuScale has been focused on completion of its deployment readiness program, including finalization of the standard plant design and supply chain readiness like extensive manufacturing trials. In May 2022, NuScale became the first publicly traded company focused on the design and deployment of SMR technology; this growth, in combination with this announced strategic shift, will bolster and accelerate the commercialization of NuScaleâs SMR technology.
Additionally, the customer-centric restructuring is a critical step to prepare the organization to scale and meet the rapidly growing global demand for NuScaleâs premier clean energy solution. For NuScaleâs current customer, Utah Associated Municipal Power Systemsâ Carbon Free Power Project, current project activities include the placement of long-lead equipment orders. Other landmark customer engagements in Poland and Romania underscore the need for a proactive restructuring to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of NuScaleâs contractual obligations for customer projects.
âPositioning NuScale towards product delivery is a natural and exciting next step for the company,â said NuScale President and Chief Executive Officer John Hopkins. âWe are dedicated to changing the power that changes the world. Working closely with our customers to deploy our groundbreaking SMR technology that is setting a new standard for clean, reliable, and safe power is a critical part of that mission.â
oh, of course it is. I am referring specifically to the Green party. They are however, a member of the ruling coalition. Also I should add, as a cultural insight, there is nothing Germans love more than a technological challenge. They use a phrase here, "why simple when you can make it complicated" not without a certain sense of self-irony. But don't underestimate the will of the wider German population to find a solution to wean themselves of gas, particularly when it is getting sold to them by an autocrat.
The Social Democrats in Germany have been named as Verraeterpartei (traitor party) by the working class, since the Schroeder regime implemented the (to this day very) unpopular Hartz-IV laws. Books have been written about it. Privacy no more, if you want to get state subsidies as a resident. Scholz belongs to that party. The Greens are on their best way of becoming seen as traitors, as well. Their unmistakenly subserviant acting towards US-wants, as contrary to their initial programme before being elected makes them the next candidate for the Great Traitor 'award' in Germany, as putting ecology behind economy.
As for the 'many people' in Germany volunteering to pay way more for their heating, I think that might just be somewhat ambiguously drawn into an ideologicsl perspective, sorry.
oh, of course it is. I am referring specifically to the Green party. They are however, a member of the ruling coalition. Also I should add, as a cultural insight, there is nothing Germans love more than a technological challenge. They use a phrase here, "why simple when you can make it complicated" not without a certain sense of self-irony. But don't underestimate the will of the wider German population to find a solution to wean themselves off gas, particularly when it is getting sold to them by an autocrat who is most definitely no longer cool.
nope, we don't have to. There is enough capacity to buy it in from other European nations. Gas though, is an issue. Prices are going to rise whatever way you look at it. There is a lot of gas infrastructure in Germany, from domestic heating through to power generation. We need gas.
The EU as a whole relies to 40% on Russian fossile fuels. Some nations, like Italy e.g. much more than that. The US? I have no figures at hand, but something's telling me, they also keep buying a lot of gas from Russia. ...Figures, anyone?
It's all just economics. A higher price for fossil fuels, from whatever country, just makes renewables economically more appealing. There are a lot of people here in Germany who welcome a higher price for fossil fuels for that very reason.
i'm guessing germany is scrambling to bring their nuclear energy back online...
nope, we don't have to. There is enough capacity to buy it in from other European nations. Gas though, is an issue. Prices are going to rise whatever way you look at it. There is a lot of gas infrastructure in Germany, from domestic heating through to power generation. We need gas.
if i recall there was gov't plan to electrify america with nuclear back in the fifties
opposition from the unenlightened activists won out and here we are today (modern example)
i probably posted that info/history here somewhere
I agree with your call for nuclear power to kick in when renewable sources falter but I wouldn't dismiss those activists as unenlightened.
The concept of global warming was first presented to the White House during the LBJ administration. Climate data and models were grossly insufficient to provide helpful scenarios for a long time. We've realized only in the last ten years or less that we're in much deeper trouble than long thought.
So those activists didn't have to consider nuclear power as an evil necessity.
Also, the Three Mile Island incident really put enthusiasm for nuclear power in the deep freeze. The difficulties in clearing regulatory hurdles and obtaining financing for construction have also hampered a nuclear renaissance.
