FUKUOKA (Kyodo) — The operator of the Genkai nuclear power plant in southwestern Japan aims to restart another reactor at the complex in late May, according to a plan recently submitted to the government.
The rebooting of the No. 4 unit at the plant in Saga Prefecture after a six-year hiatus will complete Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s plan to bring four of its reactors online after the country’s regulator implemented stricter screening following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.
According to the plan submitted to the Nuclear Regulation Authority, the company will restart the reactor on May 24 if preparations go smoothly, with commercial operation slated for late June.
Kyushu Electric restarted the No. 3 reactor at the Genkai plant in March. At the company’s Sendai complex in Kagoshima Prefecture, two reactors came back online in 2015.
Some local residents have been opposed to the Genkai plant’s operation, questioning the validity of safety standards and citing the risk of volcanic eruptions in the region. The Saga District Court rejected in March a request for an injunction to suspend the plant’s restart.
Source: The Mainichi