For the first time since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident caused by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, Japan is pushing forward with the construction of new nuclear power plants, while Kansai Electric Power Company has officially announced plans to introduce a new reactor design called 'innovative light water reactor' based on improvements of the existing light water reactor.
Kansai Electric Power President Naozumi Mori said on the 22nd, "We plan to begin geological surveys to build a new nuclear power plant at the Mihama site in Fukui Prefecture, located in west-central Honshu," explaining that the new plant will be developed with the 'innovative light water reactor' in mind.
The innovative light water reactor is based on the existing 1.2 million kilowatt light water reactor, but plans to improve seismic performance by embedding the reactor building in bedrock while also equipping itself with features to suppress the release of radioactive materials in case of an accident and facilities to cool down melted nuclear fuel. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has been developing the innovative light water reactor under the name 'SRZ-1200' since 2019.
Japanese media reported that the innovative light water reactor is merely an upgrade of existing technology, noting that fast reactors and nuclear fusion reactors are still in the research stage and that small modular reactors (SMRs) face economic difficulties, leading Kansai Electric Power to choose a more realistic alternative.
Kansai Electric Power had pushed for the construction of a new nuclear power plant to replace the aging Mihama Unit 1 in 2010, but the plan was halted following the Fukushima nuclear accident. Currently, the disposal of Mihama Units 1 and 2 has been decided, with only Unit 3 in operation.
The Japanese government has set a goal to shift its nuclear power policy this year, aiming to increase the share of nuclear power in its energy mix from the current 8.5% to 20% by 2040. To achieve this, the number of operational nuclear power plants must be more than doubled, and a strategy is also in place to utilize sites of decommissioned plants to build next-generation reactors.