Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant

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Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant is a mothballed nuclear power plant in Kashiwazaki, Japan.

Project Details

Table 1: Unit-level project details for Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant

Unit name Status Commissioning year Nameplate capacity Reactor type Model Owner Operator
1 Mothballed[1] 1985[2] 1100 MW[2] Boiling water reactor[2] BWR-5[2] Tokyo Electric Power CO [100%][2] Tokyo Electric Power CO[2]
2 Mothballed[1] 1990[3] 1100 MW[3] Boiling water reactor[3] BWR-5[3] Tokyo Electric Power CO [100%][3] Tokyo Electric Power CO[3]
3 Mothballed[1] 1993[4] 1100 MW[4] Boiling water reactor[4] BWR-5[4] Tokyo Electric Power CO [100%][4] Tokyo Electric Power CO[4]
4 Mothballed[1] 1994[5] 1100 MW[5] Boiling water reactor[5] BWR-5[5] Tokyo Electric Power CO [100%][5] Tokyo Electric Power CO[5]
5 Mothballed[1] 1990[6] 1100 MW[6] Boiling water reactor[6] BWR-5[6] Tokyo Electric Power CO [100%][6] Tokyo Electric Power CO[6]
6 Mothballed[7] 1996[8] 1356 MW[8] Boiling water reactor[8] ABWR[8] Tokyo Electric Power CO [100%][8] Tokyo Electric Power CO[8]
7 Mothballed[9] 1997[10] 1356 MW[10] Boiling water reactor[10] ABWR[10] Tokyo Electric Power CO [100%][10] Tokyo Electric Power CO[10]

Table 2: Additional unit-level timeline details for Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant

Unit name Construction start First criticality (more info) First grid connection Commercial operation
1 June 5, 1980[2] December 12, 1984[2] February 13, 1985[2] September 18, 1985[2]
2 November 18, 1985[3] November 30, 1989[3] February 8, 1990[3] September 28, 1990[3]
3 March 7, 1989[4] October 19, 1992[4] December 8, 1992[4] August 11, 1993[4]
4 March 5, 1990[5] November 1, 1993[5] December 21, 1993[5] August 11, 1994[5]
5 June 20, 1985[6] July 20, 1989[6] September 12, 1989[6] April 10, 1990[6]
6 November 3, 1992[8] December 18, 1995[8] January 29, 1996[8] November 7, 1996[8]
7 July 1, 1993[10] November 1, 1996[10] December 17, 1996[10] July 2, 1997[10]

Table 3: Additional unit-level capacity details for Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant

(Read more about nuclear capacity definitions.)

Unit name Reference net capacity Design net capacity Thermal capacity
1 1067 MW[2] 1067 MW[2] 3293 MWt[2]
2 1067 MW[3] 1067 MW[3] 3293 MWt[3]
3 1067 MW[4] 1067 MW[4] 3293 MWt[4]
4 1067 MW[5] 1067 MW[5] 3293 MWt[5]
5 1067 MW[6] 1067 MW[6] 3293 MWt[6]
6 1315 MW[8] 1315 MW[8] 3926 MWt[8]
7 1315 MW[10] 1315 MW[10] 3926 MWt[10]

Location

Table 4: Unit-level location details for Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant

Unit name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
1 Kashiwazaki, Japan[11] 37.4259, 138.5941 (exact)
2 Kashiwazaki, Japan[11] 37.4259, 138.5941 (exact)
3 Kashiwazaki, Japan[11] 37.4259, 138.5941 (exact)
4 Kashiwazaki, Japan[11] 37.4259, 138.5941 (exact)
5 Kashiwazaki, Japan[11] 37.4259, 138.5941 (exact)
6 Kashiwazaki, Japan[11] 37.4259, 138.5941 (exact)
7 Kashiwazaki, Japan[11] 37.4259, 138.5941 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the nuclear power plant:

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Background

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant is the largest rated nuclear power plant in the world.[12] After an offshore earthquake in July 2007, the plant was shut down. In May 2009, Unit 7 was restarted after upgrades to better withstand seismic activity. Units 1, 5, and 6 were also restarted soon after. Units 2, 3, and 4 were not restarted prior to the Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011.[13] The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant has been offline since 2012 as part of a nationwide reactor shutdown in response to this accident.[14]

Since the nationwide reactor shutdown, local officials must approve any nuclear power plant reopenings. In 2017, Units 6 and 7 of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant were approved for restart but did not resume operation.[13] In 2021, TEPCO, the plant operator, was barred from operating the plant by the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) due to safety breaches. This corrective action order, which effectively blocked resumption by preventing fuel transportation, was lifted in December 2023[15] after the NRA completed a successful safety review.[13]

In April 2024, TEPCO received regulatory approval to start loading atomic fuel into the No. 7 reactor. TEPCO is interested in restarting the plant to reduce operating costs and regain public trust after the Fukushima nuclear accident. Prime Minister Kishida Fumio’s government is interested in restarting nuclear power plants in response to rising fuel costs and to achieve decarbonization goals.[13] As of April 2024, local community consent is still required before reopening Unit 7.[16]

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of global nuclear power plants, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Nuclear Power Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 https://web.archive.org/web/20221021031119/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/home-worlds-biggest-nuclear-plant-vote-may-shape-japans-atomic-future-2022-05-27/. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 https://web.archive.org/web/20220827165221/https://pris.iaea.org/PRIS/CountryStatistics/ReactorDetails.aspx?current=359. Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 https://web.archive.org/web/20220827170344/https://pris.iaea.org/PRIS/CountryStatistics/ReactorDetails.aspx?current=365. Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 https://web.archive.org/web/20220827170352/https://pris.iaea.org/PRIS/CountryStatistics/ReactorDetails.aspx?current=380. Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 https://web.archive.org/web/20220827170429/https://pris.iaea.org/PRIS/CountryStatistics/ReactorDetails.aspx?current=381. Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 https://web.archive.org/web/20220827170354/https://pris.iaea.org/PRIS/CountryStatistics/ReactorDetails.aspx?current=367. Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. https://web.archive.org/web/20221128141619/https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/npps/713. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 8.12 https://web.archive.org/web/20211114180745/https://pris.iaea.org/PRIS/CountryStatistics/ReactorDetails.aspx?current=383. Archived from the original on 14 November 2021. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. https://web.archive.org/web/20221128141810/https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/npps/715. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 10.11 10.12 https://web.archive.org/web/20220827170633/https://pris.iaea.org/PRIS/CountryStatistics/ReactorDetails.aspx?current=384. Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 https://web.archive.org/web/20230103182122/https://datasets.wri.org/dataset/globalpowerplantdatabase. Archived from the original on 03 January 2023. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. "Largest nuclear power plant 2023". Statista. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Proctor, Darrell (2024-03-18). "Japan Could Be Nearing Restart of World's Largest Nuclear Power Plant". POWER Magazine. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  14. "Operator of Japan's wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant prepares to restart another plant". AP News. 2024-04-15. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  15. "Japan lifts operational ban on world's biggest nuclear plant". Reuters. Retrieved May 22, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. "Nuclear plant offline since 2012 to restart in Japan". Energy Central. 2024-04-21. Retrieved 2024-05-22.