This week Tokyo Electric Power Co. reported its first yearly profit since the accidents at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, where a former head of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently called for more research into a plan to block ground water using frozen soil.
Developments related to the plant blacked out following Japan's 2011 earthquake and tsunami include:
TEPCO Reports 2013 Profit
After two years of deep losses and a rescue package that effectively put it under state control, TEPCO reported a profit of $4.28 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31. That compares to a $6.7 billion loss in fiscal 2012. Future revenues, though, are anything but certain as all of Japan's nuclear plants remain offline pending inspections by the country's new nuclear safety agency. TEPCO did not announce an earnings forecast because of the uncertainty surrounding the restart of its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, Kyodo reported, and idled reactors contributed to 2013 losses at six of Japan's 10 large electric utilities.
Klein Questions Ice Wall
Former head of the NRC and TEPCO Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee Chairman Dale Klein this week cautioned against implementing a subterranean wall around part of the plant without further research into its potential effects. Citing untested assumptions about the plant's hydrology, Klein told a press conference reported by Bloomberg that the project calls for more research to avoid the potential for unintended consequences. In September, the Japanese government pledged $313 million for the system that would use buried pipes filled with coolant to keep contaminated ground water from reaching the sea.