Japan Restarts Sendai Nuclear Reactor Four Years After Fukushima Meltdown

The meltdown was triggered by a devastating earthquake and tsunami that killed some 16,000 people. It prompted a debate about the safety of nuclear emergency in the resource-scarce country.

 

The firm said that as early as Friday they would be able to supply electricity from the plant, which is in the southern city of Satsumasendai. While the Oi Nuclear Power Plant was briefly brought back online to solve a power shortage in 2012, Sendai is the only reactor in the country that has been restarted on a permanent basis having passed the new regulations.

 

The new safety guidelines include mandatory backup power, a lesson learned from Fukushima, where the tsunami knocked out the cooling system inside the reactor and triggered multiple meltdowns.

 

Before Fukushima, 30 percent of Japan’s energy came from nuclear power. Idling all its reactors pending safety checks has cost the country the equivalent of $80 billion in fossil fuel imports to fill the gap.

 

Read More: Japan Restarts Sendai Nuclear Reactor Four Years After Fukushima Meltdown – NBC News