Japan reverses course on post-Fukushima nuclear ban
- Reference: 1661365174
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/08/24/japan_reverses_course_on_postfukushima/
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The plan is effectively a total reversal of Japan's post- [1]Fukushima nuclear strategy that saw it shutter existing plants and put a moratorium on new nuclear projects, thus ending an 11-year prohibition on the use of the technology.
In addition to reigniting existing reactors and building fresh ones, Kishida said the Japanese government would also look into expanding the life expectancy of existing reactors. In many cases, [2]Reuters pointed out , Japan previously decommissioned nuclear plants when they reached 60 years of operation.
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It could be argued that Japan's reaction to the 2011 Fukushima incident [4]was overblown ; the International Atomic Energy Agency said last year Fukushima was a [5]huge setback to efforts to scale up the use of nuclear power.
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Japan, the IAEA said, went from getting a third of its energy from nuclear power prior to 2011, to 7.5 percent in the years since Fukushima, with replacement energy coming mostly from fossil-fuel sources.
2050 carbon emission goals need nuclear to succeed, says International Energy Agency [8]READ MORE
The international agency said Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland also made decisions to suspend or reduce nuclear investment, resulting in the loss of some 48 GWe of output capacity "as a total of 65 reactors were either shut down or did not have their operational lifetimes extended."
But recent spikes in global energy pricesm thanks to the war in Ukrainem have made some countries rethink that decision – including Germany, which the Financial Times said recently [9]revisited its decision to suspend nuclear programs after Fukushima.
Japan made moves earlier this year, too. In July, the country reignited several nuclear plants to head off energy uncertainty after [10]decrees from the Kremlin threatened Russian natural gas exports, which Japan has relied on for much of its energy since decommissioning its nuclear fleet.
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In a recent report, the International Energy Agency [12]said [PDF] there was likely no path toward 2050 [13]zero-emissions carbon goals that doesn't include the use and expansion of nuclear power. The IEA sees nuclear not as a permanent solution, but as an intermediary between preferred renewables, such as wind and solar and fossil fuels.
"Nuclear power has the potential to play a significant role in helping countries to securely transition to energy systems dominated by renewables," the IEA said.
Unfortunately, a nuclear path toward sustainability might not be so simple. Even new reactor designs come with trade-offs for improved safety and convenience: some small modular reactors, for example, potentially allegedly produce [14]35 times more waste than traditional systems. ®
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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/01/radioactive_hybrid_terror_pigs_fukushima/
[2] https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-pm-call-development-construction-new-generation-nuclear-power-plants-2022-08-24/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YwafdiFVzkctuCeyAhdyhAAAAMk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2011/03/22/fukushima_tuesday_2/
[5] https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/nuclear-power-10-years-after-fukushima-the-long-road-back
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YwafdiFVzkctuCeyAhdyhAAAAMk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YwafdiFVzkctuCeyAhdyhAAAAMk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/01/2050_carbon_emission_goals_need/
[9] https://www.ft.com/content/cc422ece-92b3-41fa-a05c-900270bfe824
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/04/russian_counter_sanctions/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YwafdiFVzkctuCeyAhdyhAAAAMk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/0498c8b8-e17f-4346-9bde-dad2ad4458c4/NuclearPowerandSecureEnergyTransitions.pdf
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/15/nuclear_power_climate_change/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/02/nuclear_reactors_waste/
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Excellent news
And note that it's largely thanks to the fear mongers that we have a "waste" problem. Most of the "waste" from current plants would actually be considered fuel if the fear mongers hadn't scuppered the idea of building reactors to use it.
Apparently we have enough "waste" in storage in the UK to supply all our lecky needs for a century IF we put it through a fast breeder. So instead of using it to make power, and ending up with much less to deal with afterwards - we have created a much bigger problem which those same fear mongers use to show that nuclear is much worse than it actually is.
saving energy
If we all get more radio active perhaps we can save power as we all glow in the dark?
Re: saving energy
I need to get a PET scan in a couple weeks, so then I may glow in the dark for a day or two.
Mountains of coal ash
Compared the mountains of ash produced by coal power, nuclear waste is nothing.
Re: Mountains of coal ash
So we can dump it in your garden, then? - thanks, good to know.
Re: Mountains of coal ash
The total amount of radioactivity in coal ash is higher than the radioactive waste generated by nuclear power, when measured per GWh.
Its just in a much more concentrated form when it comes out of a nuclear plant. If it was permitted to break up the nuclear waste and dilute it with inert materials it too could be dumped willy nilly and exhausted into the air like coal ash.
Finally, some politicians showing some sense! Nuclear is the only option we have in the immediate future if we wish to reduce carbon emissions and have the high energy-consumotion civilisation that we live in.
Wind and solar
Why aren't they doing wind and solar also? A lot quicker to get up and running and also safer.
Re: Wind and solar
Here we have a hybrid wind-solar plan for global warming based on a lot of hot air.
Re: Wind and solar
Where does the article indicate that wind and solar usage are not being increased? The development of nuclear power does not imply that renewable energy sources are not also being developed.
Excellent news
The best, realistic path towards increased nuclear safety is building newer reactors. If the scientifically illiterate fear mongers* hadn't scuppered reactor building, the Fukushima reactors would likely have been shut down decades ago, in favour of newer plants.
*the best example that springs to mind is Greenpeace pointing a thermal camera at a nuclear waste cask for a scary photo of how (thermally, as it happened) 'hot' it is