In 2018, Kyushu Electric Power restarted Genkai Nuclear Power Station Units 3 and 4, which had been in a state of long-term
suspension to enable government inspection under the new regulatory standards.
This brought the number of operating units to four, following the 2015 restart of Sendai Nuclear Power Station Units 1 and 2.
Two representatives of our senior management, Naoyuki Toyoshima and Makoto Toyoma, responded to questions regarding the
impact of the restart and efforts to achieve stable operation.
Naoyuki Toyoshima
Member of the Board of Directors,
Senior Managing Executive Officer
Director, Nuclear Power Division
Makoto Toyoma
Member of the Board of Directors,
Senior Managing Executive Officer
Executive Director, Corporate Strategy Division
Feature 1 Operating Four Nuclear Power Stations
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Four of the nine nuclear power stations in Japan (Sendai Nuclear Power Station Units 1 and 2, Takahama
Nuclear Power Station Units 3 and 4, Oi Nuclear Power Station Units 3 and 4, Genkai Nuclear Power Station
Units 3 and 4, and Ikata Unit 3) that have resumed operation in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake
are operated by Kyushu Electric Power. What enabled the company to achieve restart comparatively earlier
than others?
Overview of Nuclear Power Stations
(Of 39 nuclear power plants in Japan, as of July 2018, nine are in operation.)
Power plant
Genkai Nuclear Power Station Sendai Nuclear Power Station
Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 Unit 1 Unit 2
Operation
commencement
Oct. 1975 Mar. 1981 Mar. 1994 Jul. 1997 Jul. 1984 Nov. 1985
Output 559 MW 559 MW 1,180 MW 1,180 MW 890 MW 890 MW
System Pressurized water reactor (PWR)
Operational
status
Suspended
December 2011
Decommissioned
April 2015
Suspended
January 2011
Suspended
December 2010
Restarted
March 2018
Suspended
December 2011
Restarted
June 2018
Suspended
May 2011
Restarted
August 2015
Suspended
September 2011
Restarted
October 2015A1Q1
After the new regulatory standards were put into place
in 2013, Kyushu Electric Power moved quickly to obtain
all required permits for the restart of Sendai Nuclear
Power Station Units 1 and 2 and Genkai Nuclear Power
Station Units 3 and 4.
In 2014, Sendai Nuclear Power Station Units 1 and
2 were selected by the Nuclear Regulation Authority
for early inspection, and the entire company worked
diligently to accommodate all relevant government
inspection requirements. We also worked closely
with manufacturers and partners to implement safety
measures, and proceeded carefully step by step with
safety as our utmost priority.
Thanks to these efforts, the two units at Sendai
Nuclear Power Station were restarted in 2015. We
applied the experience gained from this process to the
government inspection and testing of Genkai Units 3
and 4, and by carefully implementing safety measures,
we were able to restart these units in 2018.
With regard to our restart efforts, we also strived
to gain understanding from everyone in the local
community about our safety measures. Because we
believe that peace of mind on the part of residents is of
the utmost importance, we engaged in a broad range of
face-to-face communication activities.
We believe that these "tangible" and "intangible"
efforts were behind our success in achieving a relatively
early restart.
Toyoshima
Kyuden Group Annual Report 201830We see three principal advantages.
First is a supply advantage. While power station
operation was suspended, we adopted such measures
as utilization of older thermal power facilities to secure
energy supplies. With the restart of the nuclear power
units, we no longer need to rely on these older thermal
power facilities, and can supply power on a more stable
basis.
Second is a revenue advantage. The restart will
enable us to reduce the power output at our thermal
power facilities, and the reduction in fuel and other
costs will boost revenue. The improvements will vary
with power output, fuel costs, and other changing
factors, but we are projecting a monthly positive impact
of approximately 9円 billion for Sendai Nuclear Power
Station Units 1 and 2, and 11円 billion for Genkai Nuclear
Power Station Units 3 and 4.
The third advantage is environmental. We expect a
CO2 emission reduction of approximately 14 million tons
through the restart of the four units. This represents a
roughly 30% emission reduction from the FY2014 total
of around 48.6 million tons, when operation of all four
units was suspended. As a source of power that does
not emit carbon dioxide, nuclear power is essential to
the international trend away from carbon as reflected,
for example, in the Paris Agreement. Kyushu Electric
Power is eager to do its part in contributing to carbon
emission reductions through stable operation of our
nuclear power stations.
What management advantages does Kyushu Electric Power expect to derive from the restart of these nuclear
power stations?A2Q2
Currently we are progressing with construction of
specific safety facilities, such as to prevent damage to
the reactor containment vessel from, for example, an
intentional large aircraft collision.
In 2015 we submitted an application for permission
for a change in reactor installation to the government
for Sendai Nuclear Power Station Units 1 and 2, and
received approval in 2017. Subsequently, we submitted
our application for construction planning permission
in three stages, to enable us to carry out construction
efficiently, and are now progressing steadily with
government inspections and construction activities for
which we have already received approval. We submitted
an application for permission for a change in reactor
installation for Genkai Nuclear Power Station Units 3 and
4 to the government in 2017, and are now undergoing
inspections.
Under the new regulatory standards, safety upgrade
construction must be completed within five years of
receipt of construction planning permission for the main
reactor building. We are therefore working diligently and
meticulously with respect to government inspections
and construction, so that the latter may be completed
within the specified period.
Including safety measures implemented to date in
connection with the restart of operation, Kyushu Electric
Power’s total investment in safety upgrades at the
Sendai and Genkai Nuclear Power Stations totals more
than 900円 billion.
Safety measures required for restart have been completed, but what is the status of other measures
necessary under the new regulatory standards? Also, what is the approximate cost impact of implementing
such measures?A3Q3
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What future challenges do you expect in maintaining stable operation of the nuclear power stations, and what
preparations are you making to meet those challenges?Q5Spent fuel storage is one of the issues we face going
forward in maintaining safe, stable operation of our
nuclear power.
Kyushu Electric Power’s policy is to send spent fuel
to Rokkasho Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal
Center. We are currently conducting a thorough review
of our spent fuel storage policies, with consideration of
such factors as reserve storage capacity for spent fuel
pits.
To speak to this in more detail, we have already
reracked the spent fuel rods for Sendai Nuclear Power
Station Units 1 and 2. Reracking involves reducing the
spacing between fuel assemblies to gain additional
storage capacity. The application for government
approval for Genkai Nuclear Power Station Unit 3 was
halted after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi
Nuclear Power Station, but we are working to restart
that process as soon as possible.
In addition to pool storage, we are exploring ways to
diversify our storage strategies, such as storing spent
fuel rods in air-cooled dry casks after a fixed period.
In this and other ways, we are undertaking to further
enhance safety at our nuclear power stations, and are
evaluating our technical options.
We will continue working to improve the safety and
stability of our nuclear power stations through storage
measures for spent fuel.A5Kyushu Electric Power is making significant investments in safety measures. How effective do you believe
these investments will be? Will the company be able to maintain its cost competitiveness in nuclear power
generation?Q4The scale of investment is indeed large, but in view of
the anticipated revenue advantage mentioned earlier,
we believe the investments will prove to be fully cost-
effective.
In 2015, the Japanese government’s Power
Generation Cost Verification Working Group estimated
the unit cost for nuclear power generation at 10円.1/
kWh, compared to 12円.3 for coal-fired power generation
and 13円.7 for LNG-fired power generation.
The calculation for nuclear power generation below
does not include all costs associated with newly-
mandated safety measures. When these are also taken
into account, the cost of nuclear power is on par with
both coal-fired and LNG-fired power generation.
Going forward, by maintaining safe, stable operation
of our nuclear power generating capacity and a high
utilization rate, Kyushu Electric Power will restrict its
power generation unit cost and remain competitive in
nuclear power generation over the medium and long
term.
Generation Cost Calculation (FY2014 model plant)
Source: Materials released by the Power Generation Cost Verification Working Group.A4(\/kWh)
Nuclear Geothermal General
hydroelectric
Coal LNG Wind
(land)
Solar
(mega)OilBiomass
(mono)
10.1 12.3 13.721.616.911.029.7 30.624.2Toyoma
Toyoshima
Kyuden Group Annual Report 201832With the successful restart of Genkai Nuclear Power
Station Units 3 and 4, together with Sendai Nuclear
Power Station Units 1 and 2, we now have four nuclear
power stations in operation.
Going forward, we will cooperate with government
inspections and carry out construction sincerely and
meticulously to achieve autonomous and ongoing
enhancement of the safety and reliability of our nuclear
power stations, including installation of facilities to
address specific large-scale disasters, and measures to
deal with spent fuel storage.
Restart of our power generation units is indeed
a start, not an end goal. We are keenly aware that
enhancing nuclear power safety will always be an
ongoing effort. Into the future, safe, reliable operation
will be our highest priority.
The government’s Strategic Energy Plan, revised in July
2018, positions nuclear energy as an important base
load power source.
In view of such factors as Japan’s energy self-
sufficiency ratio, which is only 7%, and the global trend
away from carbon-based energy sources, we believe
that the importance of nuclear energy will only increase
into the future. We will therefore continue our efforts
with diligence, and with safety as our utmost priority.A6In closing, what are your hopes for the future utilization of nuclear power?Q6Lawsuits are an additional challenge. Kyushu Electric
Power has prevailed in lawsuits to date, but in some
instances, other electric power providers have been
forced to halt power station operation due to provisional
dispositions. For example, a disposition handed down
by the Hiroshima High Court in December 2017 ordered
the electric power company concerned to suspend
operation of a nuclear power station due to the risk of a
catastrophic volcanic eruption.
In accordance with the volcano threat evaluation
guide issued by Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority,
Kyushu Electric Power has evaluated factors such
as eruption history characteristics and magma
accumulation status at Kyushu’s caldera volcanos. The
results of this evaluation suggest an extremely low
likelihood of a catastrophic eruption at any of Kyushu’s
caldera volcanos during the period of operation of our
nuclear power stations. Nevertheless, in recognition
of the unpredictability of nature, we are continuing to
monitor these volcanos closely for possible changes,
and consulting volcanologists and other experts
to further enhance the safety and reliability of our
operations.
With respect to pending lawsuits, we will continue
to act with sincerity, complying with court instructions
and making every effort to present our case thoroughly,
to obtain understanding concerning the safety of our
nuclear power stations.
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