Lights back on for Japan nuclear power

The nation has ended its two-year nuclear blackout after Kyushu Electric Power Company resumed generation at the number one reactor at its Sendai plant, which was the first to pass tough new nuclear safety checks. The government’s goal is to have nuclear power meet more than a fifth of Japan’s energy needs by 2030, a target that would require 30 working reactors. Polls in Japan show the majority of citizens oppose the restart of the nuclear power plants, and the whole issue of nuclear power has caused a big drop in Abe’s approval ratings.

Japan has been working to reshape its energy sector since the 2011 meltdown of the Fukushima Daicchi nuclear reactor by focusing on energy efficiency, conservation and an increased use of cleaner-burning natural gas to help keep emissions in check.

Anti-nuclear sentiment still runs high in Japan and there were reports Tuesday of protesters scuffling with police in front of the Sendai plant, which is on the southernmost main island of Kyushu.

Some 160,000 people were evacuated from the surrounding areas in the following weeks – continuing high radiation levels mean most have never been able to return home.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been eager to reactivate idled nuclear reactors since his conservative Liberal Democratic Party retook power in December 2012.

Answer: Nuclear power accounted for a quarter of Japan’s electricity production before the Fukushima crisis.

Four years after the quake that rocked Japan that caused tsunami and the closure of all the country’s nuclear plants, Tokyo backpedaled on Tuesday. The building housing the plant exploded and three of its nuclear reactors suffered a meltdown, leading to shutdown of all four reactors. The Sendai second reactor is expected to be restarted in October.

The Sendai plant is the furthest away of Japan’s reactors from the capital Tokyo, where protesters regularly gather outside Abe’s official residence to oppose atomic energy.

Meanwhile, Greenpeace has accused Japan’s government and nuclear industry of cutting corners in its desperation to put reactors back online.

“In the event of an accident, the government will deal with it with responsibility”, Miyazawa said.

With the restart of the Sendai reactor, it is expected to generate electricity by the end of August and go back to full output by early September.

Even if more nuclear plants are allowed to restart, many will soon reach their 40-year operating limits, with a maximum potential extension to 60 years, raising the issue of whether and how they will be replaced.

The head of the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based uranium miner said he doesn’t expect the restart to “move the needle” immediately on uranium demand in Japan, where utilities have accumulated significant stockpiles of the atomic fuel.