The governor of the Saga Prefecture in the northwestern side of the island of Kyushu, has consented to the restart of Units 3 and 4 at the Genkai power plant operated by Kyushu Electric Power Company.
Governor Yoshinori Yamaguchi on Monday said that his decision reflected the need to secure an affordable electricity supply despite the unpopular position of nuclear power in Japan after the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear generating station.
Gov. Yamaguchi said “it was a grave decision to make.” However, he called the restart “inevitable under the present circumstances.” He said his decision to allow the restart “cannot be helped to some extent.”
The reactors were cleared by the Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority based on increased safety standards put into place following the Fukushima triple meltdown, which was the result of a tsunami event triggered by the 9.0 magnitude Great East Japan Earthquake that struck March 11, 2011.
The town of Genkai, where the power plant is located, granted their approval for the restart of the two 1,127 MW pressurized water reactors based on the latest safety upgrades in early March, leaving the final decision for clearance to Yamaguchi, who was supported by the prefectural assembly, according to The Japan Times.
All four reactors at the Genkai plant had stopped operating by December 2011 in the wake of the Fukushima accident. Kyushu Electric has since decided to decommission the oldest of the four reactors, the Unit 1 reactor. The reactors at Genkai have been closed down since December 2011 and the NRA approved of the decommissioning plans for Unit 1 and for four others in the country – Mihama Units 1 and 2, Shimane Unit 1 and Tsuruga Unit 1 – earlier this month.
All that remains for a restart of the two Genkai reactors is a NRA green light on safety and an inspection of the plant.
Genkai would join three other operating reactors in Japan, Sendai Unit 1 and 2, operated by Kyushu Electric in Kagoshima Prefecture, and Ikata Unit 3, which is operated by Shikoku Electric Power Co in the Ehime Prefecture.