Weekend Edition: Japan Seeks Nuclear Restart

Update: Readers of this blog should know that it was highly likely Japan's pro-nuclear ruling establishment would find a local politician willing to put his constituents in harm's way by agreeing to a nuclear plant re-start. And so it is with the mayor of Oi, Fukui Prefecture near Osaka who agreed to the restart of Units #3 and 4 [photo: AP]. This decision comes despite the conclusion of Japanese critics who say the accident center in Oi is woefully unprepared to deal with a severe accident let alone anything on the scale of Fukushima. Oi is a seaside town and the reactors in question are less than two kilometers from the shore. In order to quell the considerable public unease, Tokyo has agreed to send two top officials, a deputy trade minister and a nuclear regulator to oversee the Oi operation . Some are calling the move a type of feudal hostage taking or "sankin-kotai". Two regional governors who signed a joint statement on May 30th to a provisional restart of two reactors to prevent power problems in the summer months when electricity demand peaks, qualified their support before the media. They said in a prepared joint statement that any restart be temporary and that a plan be devised for phasing out of nuclear power.  Back at the scene of the worst nuclear disaster in history, a robot detected very high levels of radiation above Fukushima Unit #2 on Wednesday, indicating a leak of radioactive material  underway.  TEPCo reported a reading of 800mSv/hr on the fifth floor of the reactor building, one floor above the reactor vessel.


{09.06.12}In a rare emotional TV appeal the Japanese Prime Minister tried to convince citizens that restarting one of Japan's shut down nuclear reactors is in the national interest. Yoshihiko Noda said that the nation could face blackouts and economic chaos this summer if the Oi plant is not restarted. He also claimed restarting a least one of the nation's nuclear power stations was a matter of national security since Japan would need to import more oil and gas to make up for the lost electrical generation capacity. Imports of energy have been cited as one factor in Japan's first yearly trade deficit in more than three decades. A majority of Japanese remain unconvinced by his arguments, especially after surviving for over a year on reduced electrical output after the nation's nuclear plant's went off line one by one as a result of the Fukushima triple meltdown. Oi provides power to the Kansai region which includes the cities of Osaka and Kyoto as well as electronics industries. Kansai faces the most severe electrical shortages when air conditioning cuts in this summer. Osaka mayor, Toru Hashimoto, who had opposed restarting nuclear plant, recently agreed to allowing the Oi plant [photo] to operate this summer, but he qualified that by saying he may ask to shut it off again in September since he opposes a permanent restart until the regulation of nuclear power in Japan is reformed. A majority of citizens living in Ohi town object to restarting the plant. Two thirds of Japanese say they oppose restarting nuclear power immediately according to recent polls. Kansai Electric Power Company notified shareholders it will reject shareholder proposals to end nuclear power generation at the annual meeting on June 27th.

Meanwhile in Germany, the government announced a bold leap to rid itself of the nuclear genie. Europe's leading industrial nation will invest $270 billion in renewable energy sources or about 8% of its GDO. Chancellor Merkel announced after the Fukushima disaster that her government plans to shut down all 17 of Germany's nuclear reactors and replace the energy capacity with solar and wind power. Eight plants are already closed and the rest will be shut by 2022. Right now, natural gas is taking up the load left unserved by nuclear power. Germany's Advisory Council on the Environment says that 100% renewable power is a realistic goal for Germany. By 2050 Germany plans to run on 80% renewable energy. In contrast the United States has a much less ambitious goal of 25% renewable energy by 2025. German anti-nuclear sentiment was brought into focus by the German Green Party, but now 70% of Germans oppose nuclear power. Renewable energy will be more expensive at first, but when compared to the estimated $50 billion in damage done in Japan by one nuclear facility melting it makes the investment look like chump change.