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Rising Seawater Temperatures Prompt New Nuclear Safety Rules: TEPCO Sets Temporary Shutdown Criteria for Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Plant

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings announced on August 7 that it has established a set of self-determined criteria for evaluating whether to temporarily halt nuclear reactor operations at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture, in response to rising seawater temperatures in the surrounding area. These criteria are not mandatory requirements directly imposed by external regulatory authorities, but rather proactive measures voluntarily implemented by TEPCO based on safe operational needs. According to the conditions announced by TEPCO, the company will consider temporarily shutting down the relevant nuclear facilities when the 7-day average seawater temperature in the waters surrounding the plant exceeds 31 degrees Celsius, when water temperatures above 34 degrees Celsius are observed, or when water temperatures above 33 degrees Celsius persist for 12 hours. These numerical thresholds indicate that seawater temperature has been incorporated as a key variable in nuclear power plant operational risk management.

2026-08-08

KEPCO E&C seeks government R&D project for offshore SMR "BANDI"

KEPCO E&C is accelerating the development of its proprietary offshore small modular reactor BANDI. Under relevant plans, the company intends to include BANDI in a government R&D project led by the private sector, leveraging national R&D funding to advance standard design, engineering verification, and subsequent commercialization preparation. It is understood that KEPCO E&C is organizing a government R&D initiative for offshore SMRs, with the company aiming to serve as the lead organization to develop a standard design for offshore SMRs applicable to power generation ships and nuclear-powered vessels. The project is currently in the preliminary planning stage, with plans to submit a project proposal and tender documents early next year, and following review, to secure...

2026-08-06

TEPCO says cooling interruption of spent fuel pool at Fukushima Daini Unit 1 due to human error

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) announced on July 29 that the event in April 2026, where the spent fuel pool cooling system at Unit 1 of the Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant was shut down for approximately 32 hours, was determined to be caused by human error. At the time of the incident, the plant was in the decommissioning phase. On April 5, a fault alarm was triggered by the cooling water circulation pump of Unit 1 at Fukushima Daini. After on-site personnel confirmed smoke from the equipment, the pump was stopped, resulting in an interruption of the spent fuel pool cooling system for about 32 hours. TEPCO previously stated that the cause was damage to the cable connecting the pump motor. According to TEPCO's latest explanation, the cable melting may be related to the installation method when the cable was replaced in 2012...

2026-07-30

China Energy Engineering Group Guangdong Thermal Power Engineering Co., Ltd. Wins Bid for CGNPC San'ao Nuclear Power Supporting 220 kV Transmission EPC Project

On July 28, China Energy Engineering Group Guangdong Thermal Power Engineering Co., Ltd. announced that it has recently won the bid for the EPC general contracting project of the 220 kV transmission line from Liulong Substation to Hengyang Substation under the CGNPC CS Project. This project is part of the nuclear power supporting infrastructure construction and an important component of the 220 kV construction and auxiliary power lines within the San'ao Nuclear Power Plant.

2026-07-29