By Katya Golubkova and Yuka Obayashi
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s nuclear power industry wants greater support for new reactor building, including via state-run capacity auctions, under the government of newly elected pro-nuclear Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, a lobby head said on Thursday.
Just 14 of the 54 nuclear plants operating in Japan before the 2011 Fukushima disaster have been brought back online, and Takaichi has said reviving nuclear power is key to Japan’s energy security.
However, much of Japan’s nuclear focus has been on restarting shuttered reactors – the government recently extended operating lifetimes from 40 to 60 years – with just one new plant currently on the drawing board.
Hideki Masui, president of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF), said more support for building new reactors, a process that takes two decades in Japan, should be made available through the long-term decarbonised capacity auction (LTDA) scheme to develop new power generation.
“We should include a scheme into the LTDA which allows some kind of a fund recovery even during construction from an early stage,” Masui told Reuters.
There are no safety regulations for next-generation reactors, and operators are asking for regulatory predictability while they also seek “support for financing”, Masui said.
In July, Kansai Electric Power, Japan’s top nuclear power operator, announced surveys to build a new reactor in western Japan, the first concrete step towards building a reactor since Fukushima.
Japan aims to have nuclear power accounting for 20% of its electricity mix in 2040, from less than 10% now, with power demand from data centres reversing years of decline.
Another four idled reactors have been given initial restart permits by authorities, while eight more are undergoing safety checks and a further 10 could apply for restarts, Masui said.
“Theoretically, I think Japan can achieve its nuclear goal of 20% in 2040 with more than 30 reactors operating,” Masui said.
(Reporting by Katya Golubkova and Yuka ObayashiEditing by Tony Munroe, William Maclean)
