A power plant operator said it will restart a reactor in southern Japan tomorrow, the first restart under new safety requirements following the Fukushima disaster and a milestone for the nation’s return to nuclear power.
Kyushu Electric Power Co. today said it will restart the No. 1 reactor at its Sendai nuclear plant tomorrow morning.
The restart marks Japan’s return to nuclear energy, breaking a four-and-half-year nuclear power impasse since the 2011 meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan following the earthquake and tsunami.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority affirmed the safety of the reactor and another one at the Sendai plant in September under stricter safety rules imposed after the accident, the worst since the 1986 Chernobyl explosion. The plans call for the second reactor to be restarted in October.
The Sendai No. 1 reactor is scheduled to start generating power Friday and reach full capacity next month.