Japan; two developments

  Japan; two developments

First, I'm seeing a hint that Sendai No. 1 may not start up on August 10 but rather on August 11.  Not a big deal. Second, NRA has announced it will "prioritize" the review of TEPCO's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Units 6 and 7.   As those of you who follow my writings (all three or four of you!) will know, I've long maintained that TEPCO's only real hope for economic recovery is to restart Kashiwaki-Kariwa.  Fukushima Prefecture will never allow any nuclear plant to operate on its soil again, and so Fukushima Daini is practically doomed, even though it survived the quake and tsunami.  TEPCO has not done anything at that site compared to what it continues to do at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, which as you'll recall is on the opposite coast. The two units under review are TEPCO's only ABWR units, and are the most advanced in its fleet.   Some other folks (not on this list, but in other circles I move in) have questioned TEPCO's credibility with the public.  My suggestion to them was that TEPCO could, and perhaps after some sobering thought perhaps SHOULD hire another nuclear utility to operate / manage Kashiwazaki-Kariwa on its behalf, much the same way Exelon manages Fort Calhoun for Omaha Public Power District.  After some period of time and enough transparency and public engagement, TEPCO (or whatever entity exists by that time) could take back over operation itself.  I have begun to wonder whether or not such an arrangement might in fact be a key to allowing TEPCO to restart the other, older units on that site in the future -- essentially using public trust (or, rather, a lack of identified distrust) in another operator to facilitate restarting all seven units on the site and returning the company's cash inflow and reducing electric power rates.  It's worth a look.   Will Davis   Communications Director, N.S. Savannah Association, Inc.   Consultant / Author:  American Nuclear Society Contributing Author:  Fuel Cycle Week Author:  Atomic Power Review