Shimane N-reactor Restarted After About 13 Years; Commercial Operation to Start in January

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:37 JST, December 7, 2024

Chugoku Electric Power Co. on Saturday restarted the No. 2 reactor at its Shimane nuclear power plant in Matsue for the first time in about 13 years.

It is the only plant in Japan located in a prefectural capital. About 450,000 residents across six cities in Shimane and Tottori prefectures live within 30 kilometers of the plant, the area within which evacuation plans are required.

This is the eighth plant and 14th reactor to be restarted since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. The reactor is scheduled to begin generating electricity late this month and restart commercial operation in early January.

After operating it for a while, Chugoku Electric will halt the reactor temporarily to check for any issues caused by the long-term shutdown. If none are found, the reactor will be restarted again.

The No. 2 reactor, which has an output capacity of 820,000 kilowatts, is a boiling water reactor (BWR), the same type as those at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. After being shut down due to a regular inspection in January 2012, the reactor passed a safety screening by the Nuclear Regulation Authority in September 2021. Shimane Gov. Tatsuya Maruyama approved the restart in June 2022.

It is the second BWR to be restarted since 2011 following the No. 2 reactor at Tohoku Electric Power Co.’s Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi Prefecture.