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Tokyo Power Company President Urges Retaining Reactors
(about 1 hour later)
TOKYO — Japan would be foolish to abandon nuclear power, the operator of the ravaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station warned Wednesday, saying the company had not ruled out reopening two of the plant’s less-damaged reactors, as well as four others at a nearby sister site.
TOKYO — Japan would be foolish to abandon nuclear power, the operator of the ravaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station warned Wednesday, saying the company had not ruled out reopening two of the plant’s less-damaged reactors as well as four others at a nearby sister site.
The country is expected to outline a new energy policy soon, prompted by the disaster at Fukushima, and one option the government has explored would phase out all nuclear power by 2030.
The country is expected to outline a new energy policy, prompted by the disaster at Fukushima, and one option the government has explored would phase out all nuclear power by 2030.
Public jitters over nuclear safety, meanwhile, have helped keep all but 2 of Japan’s 50 remaining reactors offline, and the country’s nascent anti-nuclear movement has demanded an even more immediate shutdown.
Public anxiety over nuclear safety has helped keep all but two of Japan’s 50 remaining reactors offline, and the country’s nascent anti-nuclear movement has demanded an even more immediate shutdown.
But Japan would be punished with sky-high energy prices, would become dangerously dependent on Middle Eastern oil and would see its greenhouse gas emissions surge if it went nuclear-free — especially if it did so immediately, said Naomi Hirose, president of Tokyo Electric Power Co. And without a swift restart of the remaining reactors, the company’s finances, already crippled by compensation claims after the Fukushima disaster, would worsen further, he warned.
But energy prices would soar, the country would become dangerously dependent on Middle Eastern oil and its greenhouse gas emissions would surge if it went nuclear-free — especially if it did so immediately, said Naomi Hirose, president of the Tokyo Electric Power Company. And without a swift restart of the remaining reactors, the company’s finances, already crippled by compensation claims after the Fukushima disaster, would worsen further, he warned.
“We understand that local residents might ask whether they are really all right with letting us operate nuclear reactors again, after the accident. But zero nuclear is a very dangerous option,” he said. “We need to step back and think of the wider consequences of giving up nuclear power.”
“We understand that local residents might ask whether they are really all right with letting us operate nuclear reactors again after the accident,” he said. “But zero nuclear is a very dangerous option. We need to step back and think of the wider consequences of giving up nuclear power.”
Tokyo Electric has not given up hope of winning local residents’ approval to reopen the two reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant that survived the 2011 quake and tsunami, as well as four other reactors 16 kilometers, or 10 miles, away, Mr. Hirose said in an interview Wednesday.
Tokyo Electric has not given up on winning local residents’ approval to reopen the two reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant that survived the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, as well as four other reactors 16 kilometers (10 miles) away, Mr. Hirose said Wednesday.
More urgent is the restarting of a third nuclear plant run by Tokyo Electric at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, about 200 kilometers from the Fukushima site on Japan’s northwest coast, he said. The governor of Niigata Prefecture, where that plant is located, remains opposed to restarting any of the seven reactors.
More urgent is the restarting of a third nuclear plant run by Tokyo Electric at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, about 124 miles from the Fukushima site on Japan’s northwest coast, he said. The governor of Niigata Prefecture, where that plant is situated, remains opposed to restarting any of the seven reactors.
Mr. Hirose is part of a chorus of voices urging Japan not to turn away from nuclear power. Japan’s largest and most influential business lobby, the Nippon Keidanren, has also warned that a nuclear shutdown would create an energy shortage that would cripple economic growth. Japan once relied on nuclear power for about 30 percent of its electricity needs.
Mr. Hirose is part of a chorus of voices urging Japan not to turn away from nuclear power. Japan’s largest and most influential business lobby, the Nippon Keidanren, has also warned that a nuclear shutdown would create an energy shortage that would cripple economic growth. Japan once relied on nuclear power for about 30 percent of its electricity.
Anti-nuclear proponents have argued that Japan can make up for lost capacity by temporarily shifting to fossil fuels while the country races to expand alternative sources of energy, like solar, wind and geothermal power. Japan made it through a sweltering summer with just two reactors running, they say — proof that the nation could do away with reactors altogether.
Nuclear opponents have argued that Japan can make up for lost capacity by temporarily shifting to fossil fuels while the country races to expand alternative sources of energy. Japan made it through a sweltering summer with just two reactors running, they say — proof that the nation could do away with reactors altogether.
But Mr. Hirose said power companies had averted blackouts this summer only by firing up old oil and natural gas stations and by importing fuel and generators at great cost. He said energy sources like solar and wind were still unreliable and would be feasible only with backup energy from conventional power stations like those Tokyo Electric operates.
But Mr. Hirose said power companies had averted blackouts this summer only by firing up old oil and natural gas stations and by importing fuel and generators at great cost. He said energy sources like solar and wind were still unreliable and would be feasible only with backup energy from conventional power stations like those that Tokyo Electric operates.
“When people think of these new energy sources, they only think of best-case scenarios,” Mr. Hirose said. “But we have a responsibility to provide a cheap and stable source of power. We have to be realistic.”
“When people think of these new energy sources, they only think of best-case scenarios,” Mr. Hirose said. “But we have a responsibility to provide a cheap and stable source of power. We have to be realistic.”
The company’s mission, therefore, is to make sure that a nuclear accident never happens again, Mr. Hirose said. Tokyo Electric plans to invest heavily in fortifying its nuclear sites against earthquakes and tsunamis.
The company’s mission is to make sure that a nuclear accident never happens again, Mr. Hirose said.
Mr. Hirose also addressed continuing fears about Unit No. 4 at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, whose top was blown off by a hydrogen explosion in the early days of the crisis. The reactor building’s exposed upper floors house a cooling pool filled with spent fuel rods, and some nuclear experts have raised fears that the pool might be breached in another big quake.
He stressed that Tokyo Electric had reinforced the building enough to remove any concerns over its structural integrity and was racing to build a crane to take out the fuel rods. The company planned to push those plans forward in late 2013, Mr. Hirose said.
He said one big problem for the company was the reactor’s ravaged appearance. It probably caused undue worry, he said, “So we’re going to work on that.”
