Japanese reactor cleared for use beyond 50 years
Kansai Electric Power Company has received approval from Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority to operate unit 1 at its Takahama nuclear power plant - the country's oldest operating reactor - beyond 50 years.
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The utility applied to the NRA in November last year to operate the 780 MWe (net) pressurised water reactor (PWR), which entered commercial operation on 14 November 1974, for a further ten years after conducting an ageing technical evaluation and formulating a long-term facility management policy.
At that time, Kansai said: "As a result of the ageing technical evaluation conducted this time, we have confirmed that the plant can be maintained in a sound manner even 50 years after the start of operation by implementing additional maintenance measures for some equipment and structures as a long-term facility management policy, in addition to the current maintenance activities for equipment and structures that are important for safety."
At a 16 October meeting, the NRA approved Kansai's plan for ageing countermeasures at the unit over the next ten years.
"We will continue to actively incorporate the latest knowledge from Japan and abroad and reflect it in plant design and equipment maintenance, thereby striving to improve the safety and reliability of nuclear power plants," Kansai said.
Under regulations which came into force in July 2013, Japanese reactors had a nominal operating period of 40 years. One extension to this - limited to a maximum of 20 years - could be granted, requiring among other things, a special inspection to verify the integrity of reactor pressure vessels and containment vessels after 35 years of operation.
However, in December 2022, the NRA approved a draft of a new rule that would allow reactors to be operated for more than the current limit of 60 years. Under the amendment, the operators of reactors in use for 30 years or longer must formulate a long-term reactor management plan and gain approval from the regulator at least once every 10 years if they are to continue to operate. The new policy effectively extends the period reactors can remain in operation beyond 60 years by excluding the time they spent offline for inspections from the total service life.
The legislation was approved by Japan's Cabinet in February last year and enacted in May 2023. It comes into full effect in June next year.
Takahama 1 - which was restarted in July 2023 after being offline since January 2011 - becomes the first Japanese unit to be approved for operation beyond 50 years.
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