Japan nuclear plant usage rises to 4-month high

The average nuclear power plant
utilisation rate at Japan's 10 nuclear power companies rose to a
four-month high of 62.5 percent in December, government data
showed on Friday, amid signs that utilities coordinated their
operations to meet rising demand in the peak winter season.

The average run rate for calendar 2008 was 58.0 percent, the
lowest since 57.4 percent in 2003, an official with the Ministry
of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said.

Japan's nuclear usage has remained relatively low after Tokyo
Electric Power Co (TEPCO) (9501.T), Japan's top utility, shut
down its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, the world's
biggest, after a major earthquake in July 2007.

Higher nuclear usage helps curb consumption of costly thermal
power energy, such as oil, coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The December run rate compared with 58.9 percent a year
earlier and was the highest since 71.4 percent in August 2008.
The run rate for calendar 2007 was 64.4 percent.

Nine Japanese utilities and an electricity wholesaler, Japan
Atomic Power Co, have 55 nuclear power generators for commercial
use, with a total generating capacity of 49,315 megawatts, the
world's third highest.

The following is a list of nuclear power generators and the
nuclear power plant utilisation rate for December, the three
months ended in December, and calendar 2008, based on the METI
data.

December2008

Company Run rate (%)

Hokkaido Electric Power Co (9509.T) 74.6

Tohoku Electric Power Co (9506.T) 59.1

Tokyo Electric Power Co (9501.T) 42.8

Chubu Electric Power Co (9502.T) 46.4

Hokuriku Electric Power Co (9505.T) 69.1

Kansai Electric Power Co (9503.T) 91.9

Chugoku Electric Power Co (9504.T) 36.7

Shikoku Electric Power Co (9507.T) 102.0

Kyushu Electric Power Co (9508.T) 85.4

Japan Atomic Power Co 43.2

October-December 2008

Company Run rate (%)

Hokkaido Electric Power Co (9509.T) 59.1

Tohoku Electric Power Co (9506.T) 74.9

Tokyo Electric Power Co (9501.T) 42.2

Chubu Electric Power Co (9502.T) 46.3

Hokuriku Electric Power Co (9505.T) 69.1

Kansai Electric Power Co (9503.T) 75.1

Chugoku Electric Power Co (9504.T) 36.6

Shikoku Electric Power Co (9507.T) 81.8

Kyushu Electric Power Co (9508.T) 86.2

Japan Atomic Power Co 48.4

January-December 2008

Company Run rate (%)

Hokkaido Electric Power Co (9509.T) 63.6

Tohoku Electric Power Co (9506.T) 71.4

Tokyo Electric Power Co (9501.T) 43.2

Chubu Electric Power Co (9502.T) 57.6

Hokuriku Electric Power Co (9505.T) 41.8

Kansai Electric Power Co (9503.T) 66.9

Chugoku Electric Power Co (9504.T) 69.0

Shikoku Electric Power Co (9507.T) 84.2

Kyushu Electric Power Co (9508.T) 81.0

Japan Atomic Power Co 44.2

(Source: Reuters)

Japan: Nuclear power company eyes decommissioning of 2 reactors due to stiffer quake standards

Chubu Electric Power Co. is considering decommissioning two reactors at the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant and building a new reactor in response to tougher earthquake resistance standards, it has been learned.

The power company is reportedly considering decommissioning the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors at the plant in Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture, and building a new sixth reactor that would start operating from fiscal 2018 or later. Decommissioning work on the reactors, which are currently not operating, would be completed around 2035.

Since the 2007 Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake that struck Niigata Prefecture, the government has requested tougher earthquake-resistance checks, and it appears that the power company decided that, from a cost perspective, it would be difficult to resume operations of the aging No. 1 and No. 2 reactors.

Chubu Electric Power Co. had planned to resume operations of the two reactors in fiscal 2011 after improving their earthquake resistance. However, in the 2007 Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake, shaking at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture was 3.8 times more intense than had been predicted. Accordingly, major quake resistance reinforcement became necessary for the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors at the Hamaoka plant. Since there was a high possibility of major increases in the cost of restarting the reactors, the power company began looking at decommissioning them as an option.

If the company receives government approval of its decommissioning plans, it will spend about 10 years reducing the amount of radioactive material in the reactors and then dismantle the nuclear reactor buildings.

(Source: Mainichi Daily)

IAEA to reassess quake-hit Japan nuclear facility

The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency says inspectors will return to Japan early next month to take another look at a nuclear facility damaged by an earthquake in 2007.

The International Atomic Energy Agency says a team will re-examine the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa complex from Dec. 1-5.

The facility was rocked by a magnitude-6.8 quake in July 2007 that caused malfunctions and leaks at the plant — the world's largest by capacity. It has been shut down ever since.

The Vienna-based IAEA said Tuesday that the team of 10 experts will reassess safety measures designed to deal with the ongoing threat of earthquakes.

It will be the agency's third visit to the site since the quake.

(Source: International Herald Tribune)

Tokyo's nexus with India deepens

Minister Manmohan Singh to Tokyo - his third since he became prime minister in 2004. During his three-day official visit, Manmohan and Japanese counterpart Taro Aso issued a joint statement on the advancement of the strategic and global partnership, but more significantly signed a joint declaration on security cooperation.

It is remarkable that Tokyo has signed such a declaration with New Delhi with which it fell out badly only 10 years ago when it condemned India's nuclear testing in 1998 and imposed severe economic sanctions. The declaration is hugely significant, as India is only the second country after Australia with which Japanhas signed such a declaration outside its security ties with the United States.

This declaration is a comprehensive package emanating from different types of bilateral cooperation and exchanges in defense and security areas occurring in the past three to four years. The package reaffirms the two nations' similar perceptions of the evolving environment in the region and the world at large. It also extends their common commitment to democracy, open society, human rights and the rule of law and their role in promoting peace, stability and development in Asia and beyond.

This is all highly rhetorical and symbolic, but nevertheless important in charting a new course in the relationship. A number of areas have been identified where interests and commitments intersect, including the safety of sea lines of communication, fighting terrorism and pursuing disarmament.

Mechanisms for security cooperation have been spelled out in the declaration that include consultations between the two foreign offices, meetings and dialogues at various levels, defense-level cooperation through meetings of defense ministers, exchange of service chiefs, bilateral and multilateral exercises and exchange of staff and personnel. The declaration also stipulates the two countries develop an action plan for further cooperation.

India-Japan security ties began to warm only recently during the Junichiro Koizumi and Shinzo Abe administrations. But the momentum was lost with the inauguration of the Yasuo Fukuda administration in 2007, which was less keen on India and wanted to focus on China and Southeast Asia. The architect of this declaration is undoubtedly Aso, an India enthusiast, and who in his former capacity as foreign minister was at the forefront of developing and strengthening ties with India.

This new development raises several strategic questions. One that stands out relates to China. Both prime ministers have denied that their rising bilateral interests have any implications for China. Manmohan commented that cooperation with Japan would not be "at the cost of any third country, least of all China". Similarly, Aso observed that "we regard security cooperation with India as very important ... and we do not have any assumption of a third country as a target such as China".

While no immediate comments appeared in Chinese media because Beijing is busy with the 7th Asia-Europe meeting, no matter what Manmohan and Aso might state, it is certain that Beijing will see in the new declaration a strategic design to curb its regional influence.

Only a few years ago when a proposal for a quadrilateral framework consisting of Japan, the United States, Australia and India was advanced, Beijing regarded it as an attempt to isolate and encircle the mainland within an "arc of democracy". Given its troubled ties with Tokyo, Beijing has reasons to be suspicious of Japan's separate security agreement with Australia and now with India.

While Australia has historically been a staunch ally of the US, India-US ties have deepened considerably in recent years and most recently through the signing of the civilian nuclear agreement. New developments in Japan's security ties with these nations will not be taken lightly in the Chinese strategic community. Although the quadrilateral process is on the backburner, Japan's alliance with the United States and its new security ties, no matter how loose, with Australia and India sends the signal of a new security order in the region.

How fast the broken lines existing through bilateral and trilateral security processes between Japan, the US, Australia and India will be joined together and in what shape and form will largely depend on the priority that the new administration in Washington will attach to this issue. Additionally, both India and Japan are heading for general elections. While it seems certain that there will be a new prime minister in New Delhi next year, the future of Aso depends on how his party performs at the general election.

Civilian nuclear cooperation

While cooperation in security and defense added a new chapter in the bilateral relationship, India's desire for civilian nuclear cooperation with Japan remains unfulfilled. Although Japan reluctantly supported India's case at the Nuclear Suppliers' Group, Tokyo is hesitant to cooperate with India in the civilian nuclear area. Japan possesses state-of-the-art technology in the field and it generates about one-third of its electricity through the existing 55 nuclear power plants. It is well placed to help India meet its much-required energy needs both through technology and finance.
Despite the US-India civilian nuclear technology agreement and strong support from the Japanese business community and some strategic thinkers in Japan, the Japanese government is reluctant to talk about such a deal due to strong domestic opposition from civic groups and anti-nuclear lobbyists. It is not difficult to appreciate domestic opposition as hundreds of thousands of Japanese were victims of nuclear bombings during World War II and some still suffer the consequences.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) acts cautiously and pragmatically over such controversial issues as nuclear cooperation, especially when its own political future remains uncertain. A general election is likely to be called soon in Japan and the LDP's electoral fortune hangs in the balance, although currently it enjoys a solid majority in the Lower House. That's why Aso reiterated Japan's long-held position that India become signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

The Japanese side understands India's position on why it has refused to sign and ratify these treaties, and the Indian side also acknowledges Japan's position on the issue. When discussing this matter with his counterpart, Manmohan stated that India was willing to wait until Japan was ready to take it (cooperation in civilian nuclear technology) forward.

Economic ties: Mixed signals

While political and strategic ties have strengthened considerably in recent years, bilateral trade and Japanese investment in India still remain at a relatively low level, compared to other bilateral trade figures that Japan and India have achieved with their major partners. Prospects of high growth are not very strong. Even the two-way trade target of $20 billion annually by 2010 looks unachievable, given that the current level of bilateral trade stands at about $10 billion. The current global financial turmoil is also likely to slow down economic activities of both nations.

Furthermore, the much-discussed economic partnership agreement for which several rounds of negotiations have been carried out in the past two years could not be brought to a conclusion. The two sides were unable to reach agreement on how to lower trade barriers to both sides' satisfaction. Nevertheless the two leaders have agreed to continue working on it, but no deadline has been set.

The silver lining was an announcement that Japan will provide some 450 billion yen ($4.6 billion) worth of loans as part of Japan's official development assistance (ODA) to India to help it build a Mumbai-Delhi freight rail connection. This is Japan's largest package ever granted to a single project. Recently India has become Japan's largest overseas aid destination, replacing China, that long occupied this status.

India was the first recipient of Japan's ODA in 1958, but Japan's shifting focus on Southeast Asia and later on China took its attention away from India. This is now changing. In an environment where Japan's aid budget is shrinking - making Japan the fifth-largest donor in the world today from number one in the late 1990s, Japan's commitment to fund India's critical infrastructure is as much an economic decision as strategic and political.

Economically, Japan sees business opportunities in a rising economy that India symbolizes. Politically and strategically, it is largely a balancing act. Japan poured billions and billions of dollars into China in the 1980s and 1990s as part of its ODA that helped develop infrastructure in China. But Japan received very little kudos for its generosity. On the other hand, India has expressed great appreciation for such assistance. In the joint declaration issued in Tokyo, the Indian prime minister acknowledged the assistance of "the Japanese people for their generous role in India’s development".

Japan-India ties have travelled a somewhat unique trajectory. Conventional wisdom tells us that strong economic and trade ties lead to greater political and security ties. This was most definitely the case with Japan's relations with Australia. Sometimes trade ties develop strongly but political relations remain fragile, as in the case of Japan and China or Japan and South Korea.

Japan-India economic and trade ties remained static for many years and have grown slowly in recent years, but the pace of political and strategic relations has moved much faster than economic ties. Whether or not Japan-India ties "will be the most important bilateral relationship in the world", as Shinzo Abe once described, it is most definitely the case that an important new chapter has been added to the relationship through Manmohan's visit to Tokyo, although much is required to give substance to declarations and agreements. These will happen only slowly and gradually, not with a big bang.

(Source: Asia Times Online)

Indian PM to visit Japan for nuclear talks: official

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Japan this month for talks on nuclear energy cooperation and a free-trade deal as the two countries expand ties, officials said Friday.

Singh will meet with his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso and have an audience with Emperor Akihito during his October 21-23 visit, a Japanese foreign ministry statement said.

Aso, a former foreign minister who became Prime Minister last week, is a strong supporter of cementing Japan's relationship with fellow democracy India, partly to balance Tokyo's often uneasy ties with China.

Singh is expected to discuss nuclear energy issues in Japan, which reluctantly backed a nuclear technology deal between India and the United States despite New Delhi's refusal to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Japan has a major nuclear power industry but strongly opposes nuclear weapons - a legacy of falling victim to the world's only atomic attacks.

Singh and Aso are also set to discuss efforts to forge a free-trade deal. Tokyo announced that Japanese and Indian negotiators would hold a 10th round of talks starting Monday in the capital.

The two countries missed a deadline to reach an outline of the deal by mid-2008 as they struggled to reach an agreement on tariff reductions and investment goals.

Singh also travelled this week to France to sign another atomic energy deal, part of India's efforts to make up for a critical power shortage holding back its booming economy.

(Source: AFP)

Japan signals approval of India-US nuclear deal

Japan on Tuesday signalled it would approve a nuclear energy deal between India and the United States, raising the chances that the controversial pact will come into force.

The 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, which controls the global flow of civilian atomic exports, is expected to meet Thursday in Vienna on the nuclear deal. Objections by any nation would scuttle the pact.

Japan, the only nation to have suffered atomic attack, had been a major holdout as it pressed for India to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

But Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said: "It may be biased to view the deal as going against nuclear non-proliferation efforts."

"For example, the issue of global warming has been getting serious in recent years and CO2 emissions from emerging nations such as China and India are becoming a problem," said Machimura, the government's spokesman.

"It is important that India proceeds with nuclear power generation as clean energy."

The deal would give India access to international nuclear technology after being shut out for decades for refusing to sign the NPT.

Anti-nuclear campaigners have petitioned Japan to block the pact, a key priority for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who nearly saw the collapse of his government over the issue.

The UN's atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has approved an agreement to inspect some Indian facilities. Singh's former communist allies had argued that inspections would violate Indian sovereignty.

Machimura said the IAEA's supervision of Indian nuclear facilities "can lead to the strengthening of the NPT."

Australia, another country seen as a potential opponent of the India-US nuclear deal, said last week it would not stand in the way.

But the Nuclear Suppliers Group also includes a number of European countries, including in Scandinavia, that are strongly committed to the NPT.

Japan, like the United States, has been seeking a closer alliance with India.

"Japan, which has suffered atomic bomb attacks, should take the initiative in blocking the deal," said Sunao Tsuboi, the 83-year-old chairman of the Hiroshima Council of A-Bomb Sufferers Organisations, a group of bomb survivors.

"It would be a pity if Japan only follows US policy irrespective of what is just," he told AFP. "India needs to join the NPT first if it wants civilian use of nuclear energy."

Japan's main labour union Rengo joined anti-nuclear groups in a letter to Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura urging the government to oppose the India-US deal.

"If this kind of exception is approved, that means that the international community accepts India as a nuclear power. That would shake the nonproliferation regime under the NPT," the letter said.

The Nuclear Suppliers Group is being asked to grant an exception for India, which ordinarily would not be allowed nuclear material as it is not part of the NPT.

India declared itself a nuclear power in 1998 with a nuclear test.

It says the NPT, which came into force in 1970, is unfair by confining nuclear weapons in the hands of five powers -- Britain, China, France, the then Soviet Union and the United States.

(Source: AFP)

N-power plant remains offline / Pressure mounting to resume operations at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa site

A year has passed since the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake, but the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) is not likely to resume operations soon.

On July 16 last year, a quake measuring 7 on the Japanese seismic scale of 7 was registered at the compound of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant. The quake's epicenter was close to the plant.

Four of seven reactors there were in operation or were being brought online. However, they all automatically stopped operating after the powerful jolts.

During the quake, an outdoor electric transformer caught fire and radioactive material from a spent fuel storage pool leaked into the sea. However, main plant equipment, including reactors, sustained no major damage.

The International Atomic Energy Agency inspected the plant twice and confirmed that it had not suffered serious damage.

Diligent attention to safety during the plant's design is believed to have been instrumental in preventing a disaster. However, it takes time to confirm whether unseen damage and warping in machines and buildings have occurred.

Earthquake reinforcement to withstand tremors with a ground acceleration of up to 1,000 gals--including additional support structures for pipes--began at the plant last month. During last year's earthquake, acceleration of up to 680 gals was detected.

At present, it is unclear when the plant will resume operations and TEPCO has yet to announce even a target resumption date.

The seven nuclear power reactors, which together are capable of generating the most kilowatts (8.21 million) of electricity anywhere the world, will remain shut down this summer.

The operational suspension also has dealt a blow to the local economy.

When he was asked at a June press conference whether there was still room for implementing fiscal reconstruction measures, such as integrating city-owned facilities, Kashiwazaki Mayor Hiroshi Aida said,"We did everything we could [to cut expenses]."

The city's financial situation is in tatters. As of fiscal 2006, revenues related to the nuclear plant accounted for about 20 percent of the city's 46 billion yen total general account revenue.

Because of the power plant's operational suspension, however, the city will not receive its annual 500 million yen from the prefectural government as allocation from revenues from the prefectural nuclear fuel tax in fiscal 2008. In addition, the city will not be able to receive tax revenues from TEPCO. TEPCO will not be required to pay corporate taxes because it has plunged into the red.

Starting in fiscal 2009, Kashiwazaki's general account will have a negative balance. Even if the nuclear plant resumes operations in fiscal 2010, the city likely will be saddled with a debt of about 2.5 billion yen, as the city has to begin redeeming bonds it issued for reconstruction after the disaster.

Aida said the city is in a state of fiscal emergency.

Kariwamura's financial situation is no different. About 65 percent of Kariwamura's fiscal 2006 4 billion yen general account revenues were related to the nuclear power plant.

Kariwamura Mayor Hiroo Shinada said he hoped TEPCO would return the plant's operations to their original state as soon as possible.

The nuclear plant has a significant economic impact on the area. According to TEPCO, about half of the plant's 7,600 employees were locally hired.

Construction projects awarded to local companies and purchases from local firms totaled 3.86 billion yen in fiscal 2005.

A 51-year-old man who works for a company that does jobs for the nuclear power plant said a prolonged suspension would reduce his company's work.

Many local people are calling for an early resumption of plant operations, saying without it there will be fewer people on the streets and the city will suffer.

When can TEPCO resume plant operations?

Approval from the Kashiwazaki mayor, Kariwamura mayor and prefectural governor is needed for TEPCO to reopen the plant. All three seats are up for election between October and December.

In the past year, it was discovered that TEPCO did not thoroughly survey faults near the nuclear plant and its earthquake-resistance measures were insufficient. This led some voters to express concern about the plant's safety.

While the mayors and governor are worried about fiscal problems, they remain cautious about restarting the plant.

Between March and May, TEPCO resumed operations at two electrical power generation facilities at its Yokosuka thermal power plant. If the reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa do not go back online, other thermal power plants would compensate for the lost electrical generating capacity, but would emit an extra 30 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, according to expert estimates.

Chikyu o Kangaeru Kai, an association of scholars and business leaders that considers environmental problems, in May proposed to the prime minister that operations at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant be resumed as soon as possible.

The association, chaired by former Education, Science and Technology Minister Akito Arima, said the nuclear power plant could reduce CO2 emissions.

Few people pay attention to where their electricity is produced. With the greater metropolitan area facing an electricity shortage this summer, it is time for us to think about these issues.

TEPCO must demonstrate to the public that it has implemented surefire safety measures if it wants to resume the plant's operations. However, TEPCO and the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry have to make better efforts to help the public understand the need for nuclear power plants.

(Source: Yomiuri Shimbun)

In Japan, Resistance Rises To Nuclear-Power Plans

As global interest in nuclear power grows, Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s struggle with the world's largest nuclear plant -- shut down after an earthquake a year ago -- illustrates how tricky and expensive operating such facilities can be.

The high cost of fossil fuels and nuclear plants' low greenhouse-gas emissions are leading more nations to consider adding nuclear facilities, in some cases for the first time in years.

The U.S., which has built few new plants since the late 1970s, has in the past three years fielded applications for more than 30 new plants -- the country has 104 reactors, generating 20% of the nation's electricity. Russia and China are building more facilities as their economies grow. Newcomers such as Indonesia and Vietnam are planning their first reactors. Today, the world's 439 operable nuclear reactors produce about 16% of global power, according to the World Nuclear Association.

In South Korea, electricity demand is projected to increase by 40% by 2030. The nation needs to build nine to 13 new reactors by 2030, adding to its 20 existing facilities, experts say. That means nuclear power could make up as much as 60% of South Korea's power, from the current 36%.

Energy ministers from the Group of Eight leading nations last month recognized the "growing interest in nuclear power as one possible solution to climate change and energy security."

Tuesday, G-8 leaders meeting in Japan officially backed a goal of halving greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050.

Tokyo Electric's seven-reactor Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, in this seaside village in central Japan, can generate 8.2 million kilowatts, about 20% of the total energy supply of the company, which has 28 million customers in and around Tokyo.

Japan has been building larger plants because of the challenges of scouting out new locations and securing local support. Those problems came to the fore a year ago, when a powerful earthquake rocked the plant. The reactors shut down automatically and there was no significant damage to key facilities from the July 16 quake.

Still, images of twisted service roads and toppled barrels of nuclear waste were enough to scare people across the country.

"I thought I had made peace with the power plant, but now I can't keep it out of my mind," says Yonin Kondo, a 59-year-old fishmonger and village assembly member who lives about a mile from the plant.

Public opinion hasn't been helped by a series of other incidents at Japan's nuclear facilities. In 2006, Tokyo Electric's internal investigation found 23 cases of data manipulation at nuclear facilities to cover up problems, both minor and serious. The company says it has since undertaken steps to increase transparency and improve ethical standards.

Recent findings that the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant lies close to active earthquake faults have raised questions about safety. While two new plants are under construction and a third was approved recently, safety concerns have all but scuttled Japan's goal of adding 13 nuclear reactors to its array of 55 over the next decade or so.

Tokyo Electric and government nuclear regulators say they underestimated an earthquake's potential impact on Kashiwazaki-Kariwa. The company recently increased by five times its assumption for the maximum impact the plant could suffer and started reinforcing the plant's reactors.

Some seismologists argue that active faults running near the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant are longer than Tokyo Electric believes, and thus are capable of causing far greater damage.

"By the standard of any sensible person, the ground isn't suitable for a nuclear power plant," said Katsuhiko Ishibashi, a professor emeritus at Kobe University.

Hiro Hasegawa, a Tokyo Electric spokesman, says nothing has been decided about reopening the plant.

"To ensure safety, we will check everything there is to check," says Yasuhisa Komoda, director-general of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

The plant closure pushed Tokyo Electric into the red for the first time in nearly three decades. For the fiscal year ended March 31, Tokyo Electric reported a $2.5 billion loss to pay for the plant's repair, and a $6.5 billion increase in its fuel costs, for the import of extra fuel oil. The company's shares are down about 25% since the earthquake, more than the shares of any of its peers.

(Source: Wall Street Journal)

Japan May Aid Nuclear-Plant Builders' U.S. Efforts, Nikkei Says

Japan's Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, a unit of the trade ministry, is considering offering financial aid to the country's nuclear-power-plant builders working on U.S. projects, Nikkei English News said, without saying where it obtained the information.

In a move to reduce investment risks of companies that participate in U.S. nuclear-plant projects, the agency might ask the Japan Bank for International Cooperation to make loans to companies such as Toshiba Corp., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Hitachi Ltd., the news service reported.

U.S. and Japanese energy officials are scheduled to meet May 23 in Tokyo to discuss Japan's policy on aid to the U.S., which plans to build 30 nuclear reactors over the next 20 years, Nikkei said.

Japan has an increasing stake in the U.S. nuclear market, the news service said. Toshiba, which bought Monroeville, Pennsylvania-based nuclear-power-systems builder Westinghouse Electric Co., has secured orders in the U.S., and Hitachi is exploring the U.S. market by teaming up with General Electric Co., Nikkei said.

(Source: Bloomberg)

Japan says to help Vietnam build nuclear power plant

Japan said Thursday that it has signed an agreement to help Vietnam build its first nuclear power plant.

The Vietnamese government is preparing to start construction of the plant in 2015, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a statement.

The agreement was signed by Masashi Nakano, senior vice minister of economy, trade and industry, and his Vietnamese counterpart, Do Huu Hao, in Hanoi, the statement said.

Japan, which has 50 years of experience in nuclear power generation, will provide assistance for preparation and planning, as well as training of specialists. It will also help Vietnam establish safety regulations.

'It is very significant that a framework has been established for Japan to help Vietnam with its 50-year history in nuclear power development and its expertise in operating 55 nuclear power plants,' the statement said.

'Under this agreement, we will combine efforts at government and private sector levels to cooperate with Vietnam.'

Vietnam, which is enjoying rapid economic growth, has previously said it wants to build a nuclear power plant that would produce electricity from 2020.

The agreement signed Thursday is in part aimed at making it easier for Japanese companies to win orders for the construction in Vietnam, Kyodo News said quoting government officials.

Companies from France, South Korea and other countries are also showing strong interest in taking part in the construction, Kyodo said.

(Source: Forbes)

Japan ups CO2 offset buying as nuclear power slows

Japan is stepping up efforts to meet its Kyoto Protocol targets by buying more greenhouse gas emissions offsets from abroad than previously planned as its own emissions rise and nuclear power production dwindles.
Japan has become a major emissions credit buyer, using the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO) as its agent. Having already bought 23 million in the past two years, the government says it will buy at least 77 million more tonnes of carbon offset credits by 2012.
In addition, electric power firms, such as Tokyo Electric Power Co. will have to invest in more clean energy projects abroad to make up for carbon emitted from their own plants, because emission-free nuclear power generation is lower than expected, analysts said on Monday.
TEPCO's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, the world's biggest nuclear power station, has been shut since July after being damaged by an earthquake, forcing TEPCO to work its thermal plants harder and to buy electricity from other firms.
"Apart from the government's planned purchase of offset credits, the private sector will have to buy double or more than that," said Yoichi Kaya, director-general of Research Institute of Innovative Technology for Earth.
"Electric power companies are in a tough situation as the 120 million tonnes (of offsets) they have secured would not be enough given a halt of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant," said Kaya, who also chairs a newly-launched group investigating carbon trading for Japan's trade ministry.
Japan has said it intends to meet its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change by purchasing around 100 million tonnes of credits to be delivered between 2008 and 2012.
These credits could come from privately-owned clean energy projects in developing countries or from countries like Russia which, under the Kyoto Protocol, have a surplus of governmental carbon credits, called AAUs.

(read more)
(Source: Reuters)

Protests as French PM visits Japan nuclear plant

Hundreds of Japanese anti-nuclear activists protested Saturday as French Prime Minister Francois Fillon toured a new atomic facility here built in partnership between the two nations.

The plant in the northern region of Aomori is expected to begin operations next month, but critics charge that it poses an environmental safety risk and could also be vulnerable to an earthquake.

Undaunted, Fillon said Paris and Tokyo, which are major nuclear supporters, should seek to vaunt the benefits of sharing that technology with developing nations too.

"It is important France and Japan are the spokesnations of the reasonable use of nuclear on a global scale," he told reporters.

He said refusing emerging economies access to civil nuclear rights would be "a political mistake."

"Step by step, by respecting all the security rules, we would like to bring developing nations toward mastery of these technologies," he added. "It is a very important political trend."

Fillon said he hoped Paris and Tokyo would be able to press for a "common action in favour of civilian nuclear energy" at a July summit of the G8 group of the world's leading industrialised nations, which Japan is hosting.

Some 700 protesters rallied in Aomori, the main town in the prefecture of the same name and near Rokkasho, where the facility was built by Japan Nuclear Fuel (JNFL) and France's nuclear giant Areva.

The nuclear reprocessing plant is "the biggest and most dangerous obstacle to directing Japan towards a safe and clean energy future," the environmental group Greenpeace said in a statement.

"Areva is aggressively promoting nuclear power expansion despite the risks, poor value for money and ineffectiveness in combating problems such as climate change," it added.

Protesters also worried about a possibly active quake faultline.

A major quake could trigger "an enormous amount of radiation leakage (that) will affect not only local residents here, but also the global environment," said Koji Asaishi, a lawyer involved in four lawsuits focused on the possible existence of an active faultline.

A map published by Japan's Active Fault Research Center does not specify a faultline in Rokkasho, but shows at least seven in Aomori Prefecture.

(read more)

(Source: AFP)

Toshiba's US unit Westinghouse in talks on 4 nuclear power reactors

Japan's Toshiba Corp. said Thursday that its unit Westinghouse Electric Co. is in final talks with two power companies about building up to four next-generation nuclear reactors in the United States.

If Westinghouse gets the orders, they would be the first AP1000 models to be built in the U.S., said Toshiba spokesman Keisuke Oomori.

Toshiba has been in talks with Scana Corp. and Southern Co. to build up to two plants in South Carolina and two in Georgia, he said.

Toshiba shares rose on the news, climbing 5.6 percent in the Tokyo Stock Exchange's morning session to 777 yen.

Winning the orders would boost sentiment for the company and may create a view that the AP1000s will become a popular reactor in the nuclear power plant market, analysts said.

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(Source: AP)

New Japanese nuclear power reactors delayed

Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) announced that the start of operation of four new nuclear power reactors would be delayed, while Electric Power Development Co (J-Power) said the start of construction of its Ohma plant had been postponed again.

Tepco said that the start of commercial operation of four new nuclear power plants would be postponed by one year due to the incorporation of new earthquake resistance assessments. The company said that units 7 and 8 of the Fukushima Daiichi plant would now enter commercial operation on October 2014 and October 2015, respectively. Unit 1 of the Higashidori plant is now scheduled to begin operating in December 2015, while unit 2 will start up in fiscal 2018 or later.

Tepco's Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata prefecture has been shut since being damaged by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake on 16 July 2007. The company has since restarted decommissioned thermal plants to make up for the shortfall in nuclear generation. According to Bloomberg, Tepco expects to post its first loss in 28 years because of higher fuel costs. The company has set aside Y440 billion ($4.4 billion) for additional oil and liquefied natural gas costs in the year to 31 March. Tepco earlier estimated a net loss of Y155 billion ($1.5 billion) for this financial year, compared with a profit of Y298 billion ($3 billion) in the previous financial year.

Tepco said that it will speed up construction of coal- and gas-fired power plants in order to avoid a supply shortfall due to new nuclear power units being delayed. Under a business management plan announced today, the company will complete the construction of a 1000 MW coal-fire unit at Hitachinaka in Ibaraki prefecture and a 600 MW coal-fired unit at Hirono in Fukushima prefecture in fiscal 2013, one year ahead of schedule. In addition, Tepco will bring the first line of the second liquefied natural gas-fired plant at Kawasaki in Kanagawa prefecture into operation in 2013, some four years ahead of schedule.

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(Source: World Nuclear News)

Toshiba Inks Nuke Power Tie-Up with Russian State Firm

Toshiba Corp. said Thursday it has forged a tie-up with Russia's state-owned Atomic Energy Power Corp. in civilian nuclear power operations including power plant construction and fuel production.

Based on the alliance, the Russian firm dubbed Atomenergoprom will enrich uranium produced in Kazakhstan, while Toshiba will undertake nuclear fuel production and the designing and engineering of nuclear power plants, the companies said.

Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida and Atomenergoprom President Vladimir Travin signed a general framework accord in Moscow the same day.

To draw up concrete cooperation measures, the two firms are slated to study the feasibility of the designing and construction of commercial nuclear power plants in Russia.

They will also conduct similar studies on cooperation in manufacturing and maintenance of large nuclear power equipment and in the civilian nuclear fuel cycle business, including uranium mining and enrichment, they said.

The firms may establish a strategic partnership in the future, Toshiba said.

The tie-up comes as the Japanese firm faces heated rivalry in the United States to win orders to build nuclear power plants. By securing a stable supply of nuclear fuel through the alliance with Atomenergoprom, Toshiba hopes to sharpen its competitive edge, its officials said.

(Source: JCN Network)

Japan must lead way on nuclear energy, say advisors

A government advisory body on Friday urged Tokyo to take the lead in promoting nuclear energy worldwide as part of efforts to fight global warming.

Japan is struggling to meet its obligations to slash greenhouse gases under the Kyoto Protocol and is also being hit hard by high oil prices as Asia's largest economy has virtually no natural energy resources.

The Atomic Energy Commission, which is in charge of setting the country's nuclear energy policies, made the call for more nuclear power in an annual paper submitted Friday to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's cabinet.

"Our country should work for the international community to have a common recognition that an expansion of the peaceful use of nuclear energy is inevitable as a measure against global warming," it said.

The commission forecast the number of nuclear reactors worldwide will surge to 790 by about 2030. There were 435 in 2006, when nuclear energy accounted for some 16 percent of global power generation.

Calls are growing for the use of nuclear power, which emits no greenhouse gases, at a time of high oil prices and growing consciousness about global warming.

US President George W. Bush in 2006 launched a push to resume construction of nuclear power plants which was halted after an accident at the Three Mile Island station in 1979 when a reactor was destroyed.

Nuclear cooperation is expected to be high on the agenda during a trip to Japan next month by Prime Minister Francois Fillon of France, the only member of the Group of Eight industrial powers that relies on nuclear power for more than half of its energy needs.

But there is wide opposition to atomic energy in Japan, the only nation to have suffered a nuclear attack.

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, the world's largest nuclear power plant, located northwest of Tokyo, was hit last year by an earthquake, causing a fire, a small radiation leak and the shutdown of the plant.

(Source: AFP)

Toshiba, AtomEnergoProm sign framework agreement

Japan's Toshiba Corporation and Russia's AtomEnergoProm have signed a general framework agreement under which they will explore collaboration in the civil nuclear power business.

According to the two companies, they will start feasibility studies to consider cooperation in areas including design and engineering for the construction of new nuclear power plants, manufacturing and maintenance of large equipment, and "front-end civilian nuclear fuel cycle business". In their press releases, the companies say that the agreement could contribute to "stable and secure supply" of front-end nuclear fuel cycle services in Japan, the USA and other countries. They also say that the "complementary relations" could lead to the establishment of a strategic partnership.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Sergei Kiriyenko, director general of Russian state corporation Rosatom, said the event symbolized the start of a large-scale cooperation between two leading Russian and Japanese nuclear energy companies. "This cooperation will be beneficial not only to the employees of our companies, but also to users of products and services related to nuclear cycle throughout the world," he added.

In response, Harufimi Mochizuki, head of the Japan's Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, echoed Kiriyenko's views. "I recognize the importance and great possibilities of the Japan-Russia cooperation in the field of peaceful use of nuclear energy," he said, highlighting the importance of a continuous policy dialogue between the two countries.

AtomEnergoProm is a single vertically-integrated state holding company for Russia's nuclear power sector, established in 2007. Its remit covers uranium production, engineering, design, reactor construction, power generation and research institutes. The Rosatom Corporation, also established in 2007, holds all the shares in AtomEnergoProm on behalf of the Russian state.

Toshiba, which owns 77% of US reactor builder Westinghouse, has publicly declared its goal of achieving global nuclear operations.

(Source: World Nuclear News)

Capacity crisis at Japan Steel Works threatens global nuclear power plant production

A 100-year-old steel mill that once forged guns for the Japanese Imperial Navy has hit a production bottleneck that threatens to derail more than £150 billion of global nuclear power-plant construction.

The capacity shortage at Japan Steel Works (JSW) has created a worldwide stampede among electricity producers to place orders with the Tokyo-based engineer for nuclear reactor cores - a specialised component in which the company has an effective global monopoly.

As the stakes have risen in the tussle to reach the front of JSW's order-book queue for reactor cores, energy analysts said that down-payments have soared beyond £50 million per unit. In some cases, European and American energy groups are placing huge deposits on equipment that will not be built for another decade.

Nuclear energy experts fear that in its haste to expand production, the nuclear industry may have overlooked this part of the equation, potentially jeopardising the future of the 237 reactors expected by The World Nuclear Association to be built between now and 2030.

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(Source: Times Online)

Japan electricity generation hits record for Feb

Japan's 10 utilities generated a
record high amount of electricity for the month of February, as
thermal power offset a decline in nuclear plant utilisation to
the lowest in nearly five years, an industry association said on
Friday.

The utilities generated 88.46 billion kilowatt-hours of
electricity in February, up 13.1 percent from the same month a
year earlier, as Japan faced mostly cooler temperatures than a
year earlier, which boosted heating demand, the Federation of
Electric Power Companies of Japan said.

It marked the seventh straight month in which power
generation topped the previous year's level.

Adjusting the figures to take into account that 2008 is a
leap year, power generation last month was 9.2 percent higher
than a year earlier.

 In January, electricity generation totalled 90.42 billion
kilowatt-hours, up 4.9 percent from a year earlier and a record
high for the month, preliminary data released last month showed.
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(source: Reuters)

Samurai-Sword Maker's Reactor Monopoly May Cool Nuclear Revival

From a windswept corner of Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island, Japan Steel Works Ltd. controls the fate of the global nuclear-energy renaissance.

There stands the only plant in the world, a survivor of Allied bombing in World War II, capable of producing the central part of a nuclear reactor's containment vessel in a single piece, reducing the risk of a radiation leak.

Utilities that won't need the equipment for years are making $100 million down payments now on components Japan Steel makes from 600-ton ingots. Each year the Tokyo-based company can turn out just four of the steel forgings that contain the radioactivity in a nuclear reactor. Even after it doubles capacity in the next two years, there won't be enough production to meet building plans.

``If there are 50 to 100 reactors or more to be built, there will be a real shortage and real delays in deliveries, so it's a good hedge to get in line now,'' said Ron Pitts, senior vice president for nuclear operations at the construction and engineering company Fluor Corp. in Irving, Texas.

Pitts estimated the cost of heavy forgings, including reactor containment vessels, steam generators and pressurizers, at $300 million to $350 million for each generating unit. Japan Steel wouldn't comment on the size of the down payment, which Pitts estimated at $100 million.

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(Source: Bloomberg)