Sendai Nuclear Power Station Unit 1 became the first nuclear reactor in Japan to begin restarting its operations on Tuesday following the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi accident of 2011.
Prior to the disaster, Japan had been the third largest producer of nuclear powered electricity with a total of 54 operating reactors. Immediately following the accident, all nuclear facilities were brought offline and took part in maintenance and refueling activity and as of Sept. 2013 all nuclear activity halted in Japan.
Sendai will begin its full operational capacity on Sept. 1. According to a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration 19 reactors are awaiting review of their restarting applications with the Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA). To become operational a facility must gain approval from the NRA, the central Japanese government and the government of the local prefecture where the plant resides. An additional 19
reactors have yet to file restarting applications.
Five older reactors in the country and the six reactors associated with the Fukushima Daiichi Plant have been shut down permanently.
The Japanese government intends to increase its use of nuclear generation as a part of its long-term policy on energy: they state that nuclear generation will make up approximately 20 to 22 percent of all generation in Japan by 2030.
