Higashidori Nuclear Plant Opens in Aomori Pref.

By Kyodo News International, Tokyo

Dec. 8–AOMORI — A nuclear plant, which was tested by Tohoku Electric Power Co. in the village of Higashidori, Aomori Prefecture, started commercial operation on Thursday after a final inspection by the state.

It is the first opening of a commercial nuclear plant since January, when Chubu Electric Power Co. opened the No. 5 reactor of the Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture.

The Higashidori plant brings the number of commercially operating nuclear plants in Japan to 54.

The 1,100-megawatt boiling-water reactor is also the first commercial reactor to open in Aomori Prefecture, which has a number of nuclear facilities, including a spent fuel reprocessing plant and a high-level radioactive waste storage facility.

In Higashidori, Tohoku Electric will start building its second reactor sometime after fiscal 2011, while Tokyo Electric Power Co.

will build two reactors after fiscal 2007, turning the village into one of Japan’s largest nuclear power bases with a total output capacity of about 5,260 megawatts.

The No. 1 reactor in Higashidori had problems in its main steam isolation valve during a test run in June, which delayed the original plan to put it online in October.

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