Kansai Electric Explains Reprocessing Plant Delay Will Not Affect Nuclear Fuel Removal Plans, Will Adjust Dry
Kansai Electric Power Co. told Fukui Prefecture officials on March 27 that the delay of the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant will not affect its plan to remove spent nuclear fuel from three local reactors. The plant has been postponed 27 times since construction began in 1993. The company will reconsider the start date of a planned dry storage facility originally set for 2026, as the prefecture has withheld a decision on its construction pending the reprocessing plant's status.
Kansai Electric Power Co. Executive Officer and General Manager of Nuclear Power Hitoshi Mizuta and other representatives visited the Fukui Prefectural Government on March 27 to meet with Vice Governor Mamoru Takebe.
Takebe said that it cannot be definitively stated that the delay would have no impact and requested that Kansai Electric propose specific countermeasures. The three operating nuclear power plants in Fukui Prefecture continue to generate spent nuclear fuel. Kansai Electric plans to construct a dry storage facility, but the prefecture has postponed its judgment on the prior consultation required for the project to begin, citing the delay of the reprocessing plant.
Kansai Electric will review the planned 2026 start date for the dry storage facility. The reprocessing plant, which began construction in 1993, has been postponed 27 times.
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