JAPAN PLANS NUCLEAR REACTOR RESTARTS AT OHITwo Japanese nuclear...

JAPAN PLANS NUCLEAR REACTOR RESTARTS AT OHI
Two Japanese nuclear reactors have been declared safe
according to the Japanese government and the country’s
Prime Minister has already announced that he will seek to
restart them. Units No. 3 and No. 4 at the Ohi nuclear power
plant in western Japan were declared safe based on computer
simulations designed to check the reactors’ tolerance of
tsunami’s and large earthquakes.
Japan’s Trade Minister, Yukio Edano, has announced that he
will soon visit the Fukui prefecture where the Ohi plant is
located to meet with the region’s governor and local mayor to
gain their support over the restart. Polls indicate that the
citizens in Fukui are onside with the restarts as it will provide
jobs locally. However, the Minister may have some work to do
at the neighbouring Shiga prefecture.
While no official timeline has been announced, government officials are hoping to have the power plant restarted
before July, which is the peak electricity demand period in Japan. The Ohi reactors will service the Kansai area of
Japan which has an economy of US$1 trillion and is home to the cities of Osaka and Kyoto. Currently, only one
reactor out of 54 is in operation in all of Japan and it is scheduled to be shut down for mandatory maintenance
next month. The shutdown of the nation’s nuclear power reactors has cut off a third of Japan’s electricity supply
and officials are worried that a severe electricity shortage will lead to power rationing.

UAE PLANNING EVEN MORE NUCLEAR REACTORS
The United Arab Emirates appears to be stepping up its commitment to nuclear power. With four APR-1400
reactors on order and expected to be completed by 2020, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (“ENEC”) is
apparently meeting with Korea Electric Power Corporation (“KEPCO”) in 2013 for an additional four reactors.
This would double the country’s planned nuclear reactor fleet to eight.
The UAE expects electricity demand to increase by 9% annually by 2020
and is looking towards nuclear electricity as a solution. This policy stance
has garnered much public support as 85% of respondents to an ENEC
2011 survey voted in favour of nuclear energy as a source of future
electricity.