TEPCO to scrap second nuclear plant: report

It will take 40 years to decommission all of the plant’s four reactors.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. (TEPCO) is set to decommission its second nuclear plant, the Fukushima Daini nuclear complex, Kyodo News reports.

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This marks the second nuclear plant that the firm will decommission, following the nearby Fukushima Daiichi complex that was hit by the March 2011 natural disaster and consequently led to one of the world’s worst nuclear crises. Fukushima Daini is said to have been offline since its operation was suspended following the March 2011 disaster.

The decision to scrap the nuclear complex is expected to cost around $2.6b (JPY280b), and will take over 40 years to fully complete the decommissioning of all four reactors at the plant.

“If realised, all 10 nuclear reactors in the northeastern prefecture, including the six at the Daiichi complex, will be scrapped,” the report noted. “It will also leave the utility with only the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, and the planned Higashidori plant in the northeastern prefecture of Aomori.”

The Fukushima Daini plant currently has around 10,000 assemblies of spent fuel cooling in pools.